Hawkins advocates full-time legislature and public finance of campaigns
Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, who is running for governor, says it's a good thing that federal prosecutors are investigating Governor...
Aug 01, 2014 — Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, who is running for governor, says it's a good thing that federal prosecutors are investigating Governor Cuomo. Hawkins spoke yesterday on the public radio program Capitol Pressroom.
"I’m glad we’ve got US Attorney Preet Bharara looking into it," Hawkins said. "The Moreland Commission should not have been shut down. Cuomo can’t get his story straight. Sometimes he says it was independent and they can even investigate him. And other times he says 'it’s my commission, I can shut it down.' It’s just a myth."
Hawkins, a truck driver and union organizer who ran for governor on the Green Party line four years ago, says if elected he would propose sweeping ethics reform in Albany, including a plan to make the state's legislature full-time.
"I’d re-impanel the Moreland Commission, let them resume their work," Hawkins proposed. "I would advocate that our state legislature should be full-time and not be earning income on the side. Speaker Silver is getting between $650,000 and $750,000 from a law firm where he apparently doesn’t do legal work."
Hawkins says it's also time for New York to consider a system of publicly-funded political campaigns that would make campaign donations from corporations and wealthy supporters less of a factor in elections.
Hawkins advocates "full public campaign finance where once you qualify with a reasonable number of $5 contributions in your petition, you opt in and get an equal grant with every candidate," and adds, "You have to go to the debates that are set up by the electoral system. And you run 100% on that clean public money."
Howie Hawkins, Green Party candidate for governor, spoke yesterday on the Capitol Pressroom in Albany.
The Green Party also has a candidate running in the North Country's House race, with Matt Funiciello from Glens Falls running for the 21st district congressional seat.
