Endorsements

I am casting a protest vote for the first time in my life. I am voting for the candidates of the Green Party, Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones. I voted for Zephyr Teachout in the Democratic primary for three reasons: her position on education, on public integrity, and on the environment. And these are the reasons I will cast my ballot in November for the Green Party.

- Diane Ravitch, education historian, policy analyst and author

I have represented Greenwich Village and much of the Lower West Side for almost 20 years as a Democratic Party Leader. I cannot, in good conscience urge my neighbors to vote for Andrew Cuomo on any line. He is not a true representative of the progressive spirit of the Democratic Party, much less the Working Families Party, and his Women's Equality Party is a fraud. He governs like a heavy handed mean-spirited thug, and has engendered support among my fellow Democrats largely through fear.

Cuomo has inadequately funded public education in order to boast about a 'balanced budget,' improvidently ducked the opportunity to stop fracking in its tracks, and hinged New York's future solvency on a risky casino scheme which will syphon money from the poor."

Cuomo has no true record in support of affordable housing, has done little to promote green energy or tax equity, and is more at home cavorting with Republican millionaires than with poor people. For that reason I am endorsing Howie Hawkins, the one candidate for governor who we can call progressive, and I am excited by the breadth of the grass-roots support which his candidacy has received and the potential to build on that in the future.

- Arthur Schwartz, Democratic Party District Leader, Greenwich Village

"Howie Hawkins is the only pro-education candidate in this year's governor's race which is why the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association enthusiastically endorses his candidacy. Teachers, parents and students have suffered for too long under Governor Cuomo's empty budgets and attacks on their schools. We have confidence that Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones will work to fully fund schools and support teachers."

- Beth Dimino, President of the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association

The Green Party platform on education sounds like it was written by teachers and parents rather than corporate interests. There is absolute opposition to high stakes testing and the linkage of testing to the evaluation of teachers. There is opposition to the Common Core and support for standards developed by practicing teachers. There is absolute support for free public education pre-k to 16. There are also sound positions on health care, the environment and the economy….

Do we think Hawkins is going to win? No! He probably won’t. But he is giving voice to issues that are important to us as union members working in public schools. For too long we have supported people who have taken us for granted. We believe it is time to support people who take clear, progressive stands on the issues and who unequivocally support working people, candidates who are not beholden to the one percent. The Executive Board of the PCT believes that only one party and one slate of candidates measures up to that standard in the election for Governor of New York. That’s Green Party candidates Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones.

- Endorsement Statement of The Plainview-Old Bethpage Congress of Teachers

An extraordinary candidate for Governor. He mobilizes his neighborhood. He is a thinker. He is the Jeffersonian model of a citizen lawmaker. A great green hornet for justice. When it comes to Wall Street, Howie has a sting. We have to shake off this cocoon of two parties dialing for the same corporate dollars. Howie Hawkins is the most unwavering progressive I've met in New York state.

- Ralph Nader, public citizen

I really hope that everyone here, but especially those of you who live in New York City, will completely throw yourselves into Howie Hawkins' campaign.

- Kshama Sawant, Socialist Alternative member of City Council in Seattle, Washington

We must dream big. We deserve better. I used to be a Democrat but then started looking elsewhere. I noticed that Working Families Party was just a front for the Democratic Party. It's a good thing we have an option in New York. My vote is for Howie Hawkins. He is out there, in the front lines, a union guy, a worker with principles who supports farmworkers' equal rights. Let's dream big and make it happen. I will be making sure that new citizens are enrolled to vote and will be making sure they know about the Green Party.

- Rebecca Fuentes, Workers' Center of Central New York

United Opt Out would publicly like to declare our support of Howie Hawkins for Governor and Brian Jones for Lieutenant Governor of the state of New York. Both are proven leaders.

United Opt Out finds the unrelenting support of public education at the heart of the Hawkins/Jones campaign to be the most compelling platform emanating from the New York governor’s race.

Governor Cuomo supports the continuation of corporate privatization of New York’s schools and the test and punish culture that has dominated the reform movement of the last twenty years. With nothing to show other than an increased achievement gap and billions of tax dollars wasted on testing and data systems, it is clear that Governor Cuomo is unwilling to drop the failed school reform movement and embrace authentic change for New York Schools.

Therefore, it is required that all New Yorkers “Opt Out” of the conventional two party system that has essentially destroyed public schools and shattered the dreams of millions of minority and impoverished children.

It is time to elect Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones to lead New York out of the test and punish darkness and into a future that is illuminated with a commitment to equitably funded schools committed to a rich curriculum for all children and meaningful authentic assessment.

- United Opt Out endorsement of Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones

Howie Hawkins has always been willing to speak truth to power and to organize for justice for those who are oppressed. He has worked closely with communities of color in Syracuse and statewide on issues such as environmental justice, living wage jobs and criminal justice reform.

- Dr. Alice Green, Executive Director, The Center for Law and Justice, Albany

As an organic farmer, I find that Hawkins is the only candidate for governor who grasps the big picture of food and agriculture and comes down on the side of the health of all of the people of our state and of the soils on which we depend. Hawkins calls for protecting more farmland, training and providing resources for more farmers. Hawkins stands up for the people who work to bring food to our tables – farmers, farmworkers and other food workers. To make healthy, locally grown organic food accessible to low-income and undernourished people, Hawkins makes it clear that the money cannot come out of the empty pockets of food system workers. Hawkins speaks up for living wages for farmers and for farm workers to have the same rights as other organized workers.

- Elizabeth Henderson, CSA Farmer at Peacock Farms and a co-founder of the NOFA movement

Howie Hawkins is not a protest candidate for governor. He is the genuine alternative to the two party swindle that marks much of NY State's politics. As a longtime activist, trade unionist (he is a member of the Teamster's Union at UPS and is in the Teamsters for a Democratic Union - TDU) he knows, from the ground up, what working people need. He is the only candidate to take a forthright position on climate change, and against fracking. More than that he a true participatory democrat, advocating for government that is in the hands of the people, not just at the ballot box. 2014 is a chance to register our voice for a genuine difference and Howie is the standard bearer.

- Stanley Aronowitz, Professor in Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York

For too long progressives, radicals and leftists in this country have been blocked by our inability to reach out to the American people with an electoral alternative that truly represents our interests. I'm excited about Howie Hawkins' Green Party campaign for Governor of New York because it shows the way out of the trap created by a system dominated by the two corporate "mainstream" parties. I hope movement activists will flock to Howie's campaign and let the world know that politicians like neoliberal governor Andrew Cuomo, with his regressive tax policies and attacks on public education, don't have us in their hip pockets.

- Joanne Landy, Co-Director, Campaign for Peace and Democracy

Howie Hawkins is a tireless crusader for social, economic and environmental justice. I first came to know Howie in the mid-1980s, when he played a central role in developing a network of active Green local groups throughout the Northeast and across the US. He is uniquely committed to an electoral strategy that's truly independent of the major parties, to close alliances between Green Parties and community-based activists, and to an exceptionally compelling vision of a greener future.

Neoliberal politicians like Andrew Cuomo love to take progressive activists for granted as they forge back-room deals with Wall Street and other unsavory interests. Supporting Howie Hawkins for governor is one important way New Yorkers can challenge this trend and assert their independence from the big banks, Washington-based political operatives, and those who would compromise away all the gains of organized labor and other key progressive forces.

- Brian Tokar, author of Toward Climate Justice and The Green Alternative

Howie Hawkins displays the strength and stamina needed to challenge the big business interests that undermine the economy, environment and social justice in New York. He has been a persistent advocate for transformative change. Unlike so many on the political scene, Howie is someone you can trust with your vote because he has consistently done what he has said he would do. Authenticity is rare in political candidates, but Howie is really as good as he seems.

- Kevin Zeese, organizer with Popular Resistance and Attorney General in the Green Shadow Cabinet

The Green Party's agenda seems to hold more water every time Howie Hawkins gets a platform.

- Syracuse Post-Standard Editorial, September 29, 2005

Hawkins is far and away the best candidate in this three-way race. As is his custom, Hawkins has shaped his campaign around a promise to provide a voice for the voiceless. He is a tireless activist for empowering the traditionally disenfranchised. He promises to be a councilor who "represents the community instead of the power structure".

- Syracuse Post-Standard Editorial endorsing Howie Hawkins for 4th District Councilor, October 20, 2001

Hawkins' lengthy list of public policy initiatives includes tax reform and reining in “corporate welfare.” He also gets down to Earth with calls for a new grocery store on the South Side, more investment in youth programs, a municipal development bank and a community hiring hall, with training for “green” jobs. He still advocates for public power as an economic alternative for Syracuse, and wants full implementation of the living wage law....Hawkins' approach takes the councilor's role to a more proactive level — where it needs to be in these challenging times.

- Syracuse Post-Standard Editorial endorsing Howie Hawkins for 4th District Councilor, October 28, 2009