Hawkins/Mattera for NY

Political. With Kit Parsons, September 2, 2022

Howie Hawkins is the Green Parties Candidate for Governor of New York. I was lucky enough to interview him about his campaign last month. You can read more about Howie, his campaign and why he is running there.

Excitingly, the campaign released its first video advert yesterday.

The advert makes a very clear and effective case as to why Howie should be the next Governor of New York State. Asides from Howie’s qualities which the ad highlights, the other two candidates are bastions and defenders of the establishment. The very same establishment that has a proven track record of doing one thing, letting people down. Although current Governor Kathy Hochul may be an easy choice over the election denying (alleged) fraudster MAGA Republican Lee Zeldin, New Yorkers shouldn’t forget that Hochul was handpicked by the disgraced former Governor. If so many wanted Cuomo to go that he was forced to resign due to harassment allegations, why would these same people vote for his chosen successor?

It could be due to the fractured paralysis the duopoly holds the American political system in, and voters may well think, ‘at least she isn't as bad as him’. This, however, is no reason to vote for someone. You should vote for the candidate you actually want. You should vote for what you want (as Howie argued during his Presidential campaign). If Democrats get scared about losing power as a result of a potential reduction in fearmongering, maybe they’d begin to fight for democracy reforms, and fight for ballot access for other parties like the Greens, to enrich the nations democracy, instead of their own reputations.

In a media release, Howie Hawkins said:

“A vote for our ticket is a vote for clean, honest government as well as progressive reforms… Hochul is the epitome of pay-to-play corruption, including the second Buffalo Billion, this time for the benefit of the Buffalo Bills’ billionaire owner and her husband’s casinos and stadium concessions, and the state contracts worth hundreds of millions given to donors who gave hundreds of thousands to Hochul’s campaign. Zeldin is an insufferable hypocrite and fraud who repeats Trump’s Big Lie that Biden won the 2020 presidential election by fraud when Zeldin himself committed fraud by sprinkling photocopies of petition sheets worth over 11,000 signatures throughout his petition to create another ballot line for himself.” (Hawkins/Mattera for NY)

It is difficult to see people’s democratic voices being squashed, leaving them with what I would argue are two very poor choices. If the Greens can't win their legal battle to get on the ballot, they will run a write in campaign. A hearing on the suit is set for September 6th and it argues that the new ballot access laws implemented in 2020 are unconstitutional. Greens had expected to be on the ballot after meeting the threshold in 2018, but the new 2020 laws changed this and raised the threshold.

Vote for who you want. Vote for what you want and the policies you actually care about. Don’t give in to fear.

In the same media release, Howie’s running mate, Green candidate for Lieutenant Governor Gloria Mattera explains how:

“Our Green ticket is the only progressive vote in this race. A vote for the Green ticket is a vote for an ecosocialist Green New Deal to build out 100% clean energy in the next ten years and for an Economic Bill of Rights, including universal public health care, a guaranteed minimum income to end poverty, a $20 minimum wage, affordable housing and child care, tuition-free public college, and progressive tax reform to pay for them. We are also campaigning for pro-democracy reforms to create an inclusive multi-party democracy based on fair ballot access, ranked choice voting for statewide offices, and proportional representation in the state legislature” (Hawkins/Mattera for NY).

If you believe in these progressive policies like a $20 minimum wage, a guaranteed minimum income and affordable housing, get behind Howie and Gloria’s campaign. They are challenging the status quo and what I think is the unjust and undemocratic law from 2020 that effectively made it impossible for them to get on the ballot.

Don’t settle for less than what you want. Free yourself from the proverbial shackles of the establishment. It doesn’t have to be like this. But it will be as long as good people like Howie are being forced off the ballot.

You can learn more about Howie’s campaign here and read my interview with him here. You can also read the campaigns media release in full here.