Showing posts with label Howie Hawkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Howie Hawkins. Show all posts

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Progress Queens issues endorsements in New York governor race, ballot proposals

Hawkins is endorsed over Cuomo

On ballot proposals, voting no on fake redistricting reform

Progress Queens has endorsed Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate, for governor of New York. The endorsement praises Hawkins's plans "to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, to roll out a single-payer health care program for all New Yorkers, and to support a clean energy plan that would create new jobs in a clean energy system, amongst other proposals." Progress Queens also applauds Hawkins' unconditional opposition to hydrofracking.

On Proposal One, regarding redistricting, Progress Queens recommends a vote of NO. On Proposal Two, regarding electronic distribution of legislative bills, Progress Queens recommends a vote of YES. On Progress Three, the debt financing of computer equipment for schools, Progress Queens recommends a vote of NO.

RELATED


For Governor of New York, Progress Queens endorses Howie Hawkins (Progress Queens)

On New York Ballot Proposals One, Two, and Three, the Progress Queens endorsements (Progress Queens)


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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Seeking to recruit disenchanted Democratic Party voters, Green Party candidates Jones and Jimenez visit to Queens

Overflow crowd greet Greens at Flynn's Garden Inn in Woodside

Green Party candidates Brian Jones and Ramon Jimenez photo 2014-10-12BrianJones-RamonJimenez-GreenPartyQueensFunction600LouisFlores_zpsed175022.jpg

Greens reach out to reform-minded voters turned off by Gov. Cuomo's neoliberal priorities

“A few months ago, there was a lot of attention around the Democratic primary,” said Brian Jones, the Green Party candidate for Lieut. Governor. “A lot of progressives were thwarted [when] top party leadership rallied around Andrew Cuomo.” Mr. Jones said that progressive voters, who want other options in the Democratic Party, have no candidate to support. “A lot of that energy is coming our way.”

Ramon Jimenez, the Green Party’s candidate for the state Attorney General, was asked about one of the leading issues in this year’s election season : government corruption. During Mr. Jimenez’s campaign, he has made prior remarks about the Cuomo administration’s mistake in bringing to a premature end the corruption-fighting work of the Moreland Commission. At the meet and greet function in Queens today, Mr. Jimenez said that he found fault with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s handling of the Moreland Commission’s demise. Mr. Jimenez noted that the commissioners serving on the corruption-fighting panel had been deputized by Attorney General Schneiderman, giving his office a special responsibility in seeing to it that the commission’s work was handled appropriately. “It was wrong for him to remain silent as the commission was disbanded,” Mr. Jimenez said, adding, “The attorney general has to be more aggressive in prosecuting government corruption.”

RELATED


In Queens, Green Party candidates Jones and Jimenez talk about issues, momentum (Progress Queens)

Monday, September 1, 2014

Green Party candidate slate banner at West Indian Day Parade

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Cuomo "Too Damn High" to debate other 2014 gubernatorial candidates

Unsure about how democracy works, Cuomo says that he will let "campaigns" decide if there will be debates

Besieged by a federal investigation into the Cuomo administration's obstruction of the Moreland Commission, Gov. Cuomo is trying to avoid debate scrutiny of his ethical and legal lapses

With less than three weeks to go before the Democratic Party's primary election to decide the gubernatorial candidate for the November general election, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) is refusing to commit to a debate with his Democratic Party challengers. Moreover, he has refused to commit to any debates with the Republican Party and Green Party candidates, as well.

Earlier today, Gov. Cuomo was pressed to agree to a debate with his political rivals, but he refused, saying, "I’d leave that to the campaigns to work out, whatever they decide," suggesting that he doesn't believe that debates are an important platform to educate voters about candidates and their policy platforms.

For weeks, Gov. Cuomo has been avoiding calls by his opponents, the Fordham Law School professor Zephyr Teachout, activist Randy Credico, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino for debates.

In 2010, when Mr. Cuomo was running for the governorship, he participated in a debate with his Republican opponent Carl Paladino and with the major third-party candidates, including Mr. Hawkins and the "Rent is Too Damn High" party candidate, Jimmy McMillan, amongst others. This year, however, it remains unknown why Gov. Cuomo is so afraid of debating the other candidates, except that Gov. Cuomo is presently under federal investigation for possibly obstructing the administration of the corruption-fighting Moreland Commission.

RELATED


Gov. Cuomo won't commit to debating Zephyr Teachout, saying it's up to the campaigns (The New York Daily News)

Hawkins to Astorino : How about our debate ? (The Times Union)

Cuomo won't say if he'll participate in debates (LoHud)

Monday, August 4, 2014

With Cuomo's Moreland trouble, will leftists finally vote in a Green Party candidate for governor ?

PUBLISHED : MON, 04 AUG 2014, 11:50 PM
UPDATED : TUES, 05 AUG 2014, 07:10 PM

As the federal investigation heats up into Cuomo's interference with the Moreland Commission, will the governor's popularity with voters collapse, costing him the election, or will the governor resign in disgrace to avoid federal criminal charges ?

Gov. Cuomo is either a lame candidate or one facing impending resignation. Will activists from New York's political left finally wake up to the corrupt 2-party system that is owned by Big Business donors and their lobbyists ?

AS GOV. ANDREW CUOMO FACES A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION overlapping with the unfinished corruption probes by the now-defunct Moreland Commission, the race for governor falls to three possible contenders : Republican candidate Rob Astorino, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, and long-shot Democratic contender Zephyr Teachout, if she survives the challenge to her ballot qualification.

According to a new poll released today, Gov. Cuomo's favorability ratings plunged by 5% in the first poll to be taken after escalating reports that the Cuomo administration steered the corruption investigations by the Moreland Commission away from his political supporters, many press reports indicate. Several individuals associated with the failed corruption-fighting panel or the Governor's Office have either been subpoenaed to testify before grand juries, willingly volunteered to meet with federal prosecutors, or are actively cooperating with federal prosecutors. The steady drip-drip-drip of revelations only points to a sinking future for Gov. Cuomo.

The last time a big-name Democrat was an early front-runner in a campaign only to see her election thwarted was former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. But former Speaker Quinn's campaign was doomed by a controversial Super PAC managed by the lobbying firm, The Advance Group. According to reports, The Advance Group may have coordinated the activities of the Super PAC to elect Bill de Blasio as mayor. Consequently, several investigations are now probing the relationship between The Advance Group, the Super PAC it managed, and the de Blasio campaign.

The co-opting of the mayor's race to elect another closeted neoliberal Democrat as mayor resulted in the appointment of William Bratton, advocate of the neoconservative "Broken Windows" theory of policing, as police commissioner, the continued closing of community hospitals, and the blurring of the division of church and state with the mayor's reliance on churches to administer an expansion of universal pre-kinder, amongst a few examples of the conservative bent in the de Blasio administration.

As Gov. Cuomo's political future appears to be headed in the same direction as former Council Speaker Quinn, or worse, will activists from the political left vote another official from the Democrat Party into office ?

The Democratic Party is owned by some of the same big money donors as is the Republican Party. As soon as Democrats take office, they are swarmed by corrupt lobbyists and special interests, eventually forcing Democratic officeholders to keep exploiting the corrupt loopholes on special interest money. Witness the massive $35 million war chest that Gov. Cuomo has amassed from real estate and gambling interests. Campaign donations of that size only come with strings attached. Complicating matters for the Democratic challenger, Ms. Teachout, for example, is that she hails from the Working Families Party, itself the target of an investigation by a special prosecutor, who is probing into campaign corruption.

This could be the year when activists vote into office a third party candidate untethered to the corrupt machinations of the corporate-controled, 2-party system. Can activists from the political left overcome the dumbed-down, local TV news broadcasts and organize behind Howie Hawkins from the Green Party ?

RELATED


Crazed with anger, Cuomo fears the worst as first polls after scandal approach (The New York Post)

Cuomo's Approval Ratings Down, Poll Shows (The Wall Street Journal)

There's More ''Left,'' If You're Hungry -- For Change (NYC : News & Analysis)

State’s biggest G.O.P. donors migrated to Cuomo (Capital New York)

Special prosecutor issues new subpoenas in Working Families Party probe (Capital New York)

Monday, May 19, 2014

Following campaign finance exploitation scandals, Mayor de Blasio neglects campaign promise for reform (Updated)

SPECIAL NEWS UPDATE: MON, 19 MAY 2014, 05:30 AM

In spite of New York City campaign finance scandals, The New York Times is adamant to expand the corrupt NYC campaign finance model to the rest of NY State

RELATED


Little Time Left for Campaign Reforms (The Editorial Board * The New York Times)

Preet Bharara Expands Crackdown on Political Corruption, Empanels Grand Jury, Subpoenas JCOPE Complaints [UPDATED] (NYC : News & Analysis)

Over the week-end, the Editorial Board of The New York Times recommended that Gov. Andrew Cuomo press the state legislature to adopt for New York state the public matching dollar system of the New York City campaign finance model. The only trouble is that that the New York City model is broken, can be gamed, and has become the subject of three federal complaints during last year's election. Furthermore, The New York Times completely ignored outstanding campaign promises made by Bill de Blasio during last year's mayoral campaign to further reform the city's campaign finance system. "The important thing is to respect the fact that we may not like the way the law is, but it's the law," Mr. de Blasio said last year after he was confronted with questions over a controversial Super PAC's attack TV ads against former Council Speaker Christine Quinn. "I certainly will put energy going forward into trying to further reform the campaign finance system," but Mr. de Blasio has so far failed to keep true to his campaign promise to reform campaign finance laws. How can the Editorial Board sanely demand that New York state adopt a broken system -- to replace another broken system ?


SPECIAL NEWS UPDATE: FRI, 25 APR 2014, 09:50 AM
Scott Levenson NY-CLASS Christine Quinn Bill de Blasio FBI Investigation into Campaign Corruption photo 2014-04-25TheNewYorkDailyNewsFBIReport_zps189d95ac.png

In the past few weeks, FBI agents have been asking questions about the campaign by the animal rights group NY-CLASS to strong arm former Council Speaker Christine Quinn (center) to support a ban on the iconic horse-drawn carriages, two sources familiar with the matter told The New York Daily News. The horse lobbyists in question include Scott Levenson, and they are linked to Mayor Bill de Blasio (inset). (FBI investigating claim that Christine Quinn was threatened by Scott Levenson for refusing to support carriage horse ban during the mayoral race * The New York Daily News)


PUBLISHED : WED, 02 APR 2014, 06:59 PM
UPDATED : SUN, 27 APR 2014, 08:24 PM

The corrupt and exploitable NYC campaign finance model is spreading to the rest of NY State

Lax regulators, loopholes, and public matching dollars that can be gamed will create an avalanche of money for corrupt campaign consultants and lobbyists

Following serious questions about the corruptive influence of Super PAC's in last year's mayoral race -- the first time when the Citizens United Supreme Court decision unleashed unlimited outside spending in New York City's municipal elections -- Mayor Bill de Blasio made a campaign promise to reform the corrupt New York City campaign finance system. Confronted last year about the NYC Is Not For Sale campaign, then candidate de Blasio initially defended NYC Is Not For Sale's attack ads, saying, "People decided to speak out, and that's their legal right. But the fact is in our system, everything can and will be disclosed, and that's what the people require," although, contrary to then candidate de Blasio, the Super PAC got into trouble for failing to fully disclose its activities, as "the people require." At the time, Mr. de Blasio added that he'd be open to later reforming campaign finance laws (presumably after NYC Is Not For Sale sank former Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign). "The important thing is to respect the fact that we may not like the way the law is, but it's the law. I certainly will put energy going forward into trying to further reform the campaign finance system, but so long as the law is the law, people will make choices within it. That is their right, but I will certainly never ask anyone to engage in such behavior." But so far, the mayor has betrayed his campaign promise to reform the loose campaign finance laws that allow Super PAC's to game elections. So far, the mayor has reformed nothing, even as the Supreme Court in today's McCutcheon ruling, continues the further weakening of campaign finance regulations. And as corrupt as many reform activists alleged that former Council Speaker Quinn was, the use of a Super PAC structure by lobbyists-insiders to appropriate the grassroots activism against former Council Speaker Quinn thwarted activists' efforts to set a public agenda for real reform.

  • RELATED : Despite promises to clean up Albany, good government groups say the budget deal that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders hammered out behind closed doors will do little to stop the rampant corruption that has plagued the state in recent years. (Crooked NY Lawmakers Have Little To Fear From New Laws * WNYC)
  • RELATED : Reform advocates and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo tout New York City's public campaign finance system as a model for the state to follow. But some political figures question the Campaign Finance Board leadership. (Campaign Finance Board leadership questioned * Newsday)

The New York State campaign finance model is already corrupt, and special interests, corrupt candidates, and their lobbyists are looking forward to the spread of the New York City campaign finance model to the rest of New York state, for they know that the system can easily be exploited.

In the last New York City municipal election cycle, campaign consultants and lobbyists to leading candidates exploited every opportunity to raise money, in violation of the spirit of campaign finance laws that originally aim to each of restrict the corruptive influence of big money donors and to create a level playing field for all candidates. According to New York City Campaign Finance Board records, independent expenditure groups spent over $15 million in last year's election cycle through largely unregulated special interest spending. But the system can be gamed. One Super PAC, NYC Is Not For Sale, violated city campaign finance disclosure rules, and, when they were caught, they were fined just pennies on the dollar for the infraction amounts. The system makes it very affordable to break the rules. Further, one brief mayoral candidate in last year's election, State Senator Malcolm Smith, almost fixed the GOP mayoral primary as a result of weak oversight and meaningless campaign and election regulations. Another municipal candidate for public office, Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito, opened multiple campaign finance accounts during the same election cycle, evidence that politicians are addicted to raising money -- and want to keep our broken system of campaign finance, so that it can be exploited when needed.

The only answer to clean elections is to ban all private campaign contributions, to fully fund elections with public money, and to institute stricter regulations on campaign consultants and lobbyists. If Mayor de Blasio were a true progressive, he would ban all private campaign contributions in New York City elections as a model for what a new era of real government reform looks like, setting a pattern that could be spread to the rest of the nation. Learn more about why advocates for "clean money" elections want to ban private donations.

Learn more about campaign finance reform activist Howie Hawkins' gubernatorial campaign.


QUESTIONING THE NEW YORK CITY CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD

With John Liu's lawsuit against New York City over conflicted city campaign finance regulators, this makes three federal referrals of elections violations, forcing Mayor de Blasio to lawyer-up, recruit special inside election counsel.

After a wave of federal complaints that have been lodged over electioneering violations in last year's municipal elections, Mayor Bill de Blasio has hired a special legal advisor specializing in election law.

Since Mayor de Blasio and City Council Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and/or their political operatives, are entangled in some of these federal complaints, it should come as no surprise that Mayor de Blasio is now maneuvering to use his public office to defend himself against allegations of wrong-doing that took place during the electioneering of last year's municipal elections.

The three federal complaints lodged following last year's municipal elections :

  1. GOP consultant E. O'Brien Murray argued to the State Department that Patrick Gaspard, a former top White House aide with a deep history in Gotham politics, violated the federal Hatch Act by getting involved in Mayor de Blasio's campaign -- and City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito's subsequent election as speaker -- while representing the U.S. in South Africa. (GOP Operative Files Hatch Act Complaint Against U.S. Ambassador Patrick Gaspard * The New York Daily News)
  2. Louis Flores, a local political gadfly who ran a blog and wrote a book criticizing Christine Quinn, has filed a complaint with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s criminal division against Scott Levenson and The Advance Group consulting firm, which came under deep scrutiny during the mayoral campaign. (Federal Complaint Filed Against The Advance Group for Election Work * Politicker)
  3. Former New York City Comptroller and failed mayoral candidate John Liu has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and its Campaign Finance Board. He says the board unfairly crippled his campaign by denying him matching funds in last year's race for mayor. (Ex-NYC mayor hopeful sues Campaign Finance Board * AP/The San Francisco Chronicle)


Lax city campaign finance regulators allowed loopholes and exploitation to corrupt the race for the New York City Council Speaker

A series of editorials by the Editorial Board of The New York Daily News slammed City Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito during the Council speaker race, first for circumventing city campaign finance laws, and then for exploiting loopholes in the state's campaign finance laws.

"Mark-Viverito has opened a campaign account under state regulations. She is apparently accepting contributions and apparently paying different consultants to advance her cause. Who’s giving her money and who’s getting her money will not be disclosed until after the speaker’s contest is settled," the Editorial Board wrote in the second editorial, noting, "At the same time, hopefuls Dan Garodnick of Manhattan and Mark Weprin of Queens are dipping into campaign accounts to give tens of thousands of dollars to fellow councilmembers and party organizations," before concluding, "None of this is acceptable."