Hawkins hoping signatures count
News10now, Time-Warner Cable
Bill Carey
September 2nd, 2008
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There could be a three-way race for the House of Representatives in the 25th congressional district. But, then again, it may just be a head-to-head race between a democrat and republican. Our Bill Carey says it comes down to a question of signatures collected by a familiar name from the Green Party.
SYRACUSE , N.Y. -- He has run for office a dozen times. Most recently, a 2007 race for Syracuse for common council, even picking up the endorsement of the Syracuse Post Standard. Howie Hawkins may never expect to win, but he does expect to be part of the discussion.
"Sometimes you don't have to win the office to win the debate. Because you put issues on the agenda and you make the other candidates deal with them and sometimes they adopt them," Hawkins said.
So when the race for congress in the 25th District took shape this year, Hawkins was on the street again, hoping to convince people to sign petitions to get his name on the ballot. Compared to the requirements he needed to meet, Hawkins says republican Dale Sweetland and democrat Dan Maffei had it easy.
"I had to get about three times as many signatures as the major party candidates. They needed 1,250. I needed 3,500," Hawkins said. "They have their county committees to collect signatures for them. They don't have to go out and work for it."
In all, Hawkins collected more than 6,000 signatures. But now thousands of those signatures are being challenged by democrats, who may fear his candidacy would siphon off votes in a close race.
Hawkins says candidate Dan Maffei is afraid of democracy.
"If he wanted democracy, he'd let the voters decide this question, not technicalities on ballot petitions," said Hawkins.
Maffei's campaign says it's not technicalities but the question of improper signatures. In a statement, they say, "Election law is very clear when it comes to ballot access. Candidates for public office must follow the law and secure valid signatures from registered voters. Howie has problems following the simple rules laid out for all candidates by the New York State Board of Elections."
Hawkins says it's another sign of a need for change.
"It shouldn't be harder for the upstart to get on than the major party candidates," said Hawkins. He's convinced that, in the end, his petitions will hold up and he will again play a role in setting the political agenda.
The State Board of Elections is due to discuss the Hawkins petition challenge this Friday. If they rule in favor of the democratic challenge, Hawkins indicates it’s likely he will attempt to reverse that ruling in the courts.
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