Post-Standard Political Notebook Blog
Of all the people who could have inspired Howie Hawkins to a lifetime of third-party politics, it's Willie Mays who can claim that distinction.
The year was 1964, and Mays, star centerfielder for the San Francisco Giants and a black man, wanted to move into an all-white community near the 11-year-old Hawkins' San Mateo, Calif., neighborhood. "I thought that was so great," he said.
"And then the white community didn't want him there," Hawkins said. "They said the property values would lower."
Even at that age, Hawkins said, he wasn't satisfied with mainstream attitudes. "So I started looking for something independent."
He found it. Or more accurately, founded it. In 1991, he was one of four people who announced the formation of the Green Party-USA.
This year, he's the Greens' candidate for mayor of Syracuse.
Read more of staff writer John Mariani's profile of Hawkins Friday in The Post-Standard. It's the final installment in a series of profiles of the three mayoral candidates.
Posted by syracusegreens at November 3, 2005 02:50 AM