Howie Hawkins Submits Over Double Signatures Needed

2009 August 18th

Howie Hawkins for 4th District Councilor
P.O. Box 562, 2617 S. Salina St., Syracuse NY 13205
474-7055, www.howiehawkins.org

Media Release

For immediate release: Tuesday, August 18
For More Information: Howie Hawkins, 315-425-1019, hhawkins@igc.org

Says Events Since He Announced Last Month Underscores the Reasons for Electing a Green Party Member to Common Council

(Syracuse – August 18) Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for 4th District Councilor, today submitted an independent nominating petition with 531 signatures, more the double the 253 needed for a position on the ballot for the November 3 general election.

"When I announced my candidacy a month ago and called for a stronger living wage law, I noted that it was shameful that the parking garage workers had to sue the city to get their living wage. Two weeks later we found out that the city administration had found a loophole in the living wage law and last April cut the parking garage workers' wages by two dollars below the living wage standard. We have not heard one word of protest from any of the common councilors, including the Democratic incumbent in the 4th district, Thomas Seals, for whom the living wage is supposed to be his signature issue. This development underscores the need to elect a Green to the city council who is independent of the Democratic majority and will not be silent and just go along with the Democratic administration, no matter what it does," Hawkins said.

Of the 19 elected officials in Syracuse on Common Council, the school board, and the administration, 18 are Democrats. One district councilor is a Republican.

"Meanwhile," Hawkins added. "the public power feasibility study is stalled. Source One, the firm hired to do the study, has been waiting for the go ahead to continue its study of a municipal take over of the power utility since its interim report was submitted last March. Only two of the ten councilors showed up for the Source One presentation in the council chambers and the incumbent in the 4th district was not one of them."

"Common Council is moving too slow to deal with the problems the city faces. Common Council adopted a resolution supporting the living wage law in principle in 1997. It took until 2005 for the law to be adopted and now in 2009 it is still not implemented. The Council began discussing public power in 2006. It took until 2008 for a feasibility study to be funded and now the study is on hold. Common Council needs a Green on it to push it forward," Hawkins said.

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