Howie Hawkins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Howie Hawkins
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Hawkins in 2018
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Howard Gresham Hawkins III
December 8, 1952 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Green (2001–present) Socialist (1973–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Greens/Green Party USA (1990s–2019) |
| Education | Dartmouth College |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1972–1978 |
Howard Gresham Hawkins III (born in 1952) is an American activist and politician. He has worked to protect the environment and support workers' rights. Howie Hawkins helped start the Green Party of the United States.
He was the Green Party's candidate for president in the 2020 election. Hawkins believes in a plan called the Green New Deal. He first suggested this idea in 2010. He also wants to create a strong political movement for working people. This movement would be separate from the two main political parties in the U.S.
Hawkins has been a leader in many movements since the 1960s. These include groups that are against war and against nuclear power. He also supported workers' rights. Before he retired, Hawkins worked for UPS and as a construction worker.
Hawkins has run for many political jobs over 25 times. He has not won any of these elections. In 2010, he ran for Governor of New York. He received enough votes for the Green Party to stay on the ballot in New York. This means the party could easily run candidates in future elections. He ran for Governor again in 2014 and received 5% of the votes.
In the 2020 presidential election, Hawkins received about 407,000 votes. This was 0.2% of all votes. He ran for Governor of New York again in 2022. However, the Green Party lost its ballot access in New York. So, Hawkins ran as an independent candidate.
Contents
Early Life and Activism
Howie Hawkins was born in San Francisco, California, in 1952. He grew up in a diverse neighborhood nearby. He became interested in politics at age 12. This happened when he saw the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party not being recognized at a big political meeting in 1964.
After high school, Hawkins went to Dartmouth College. He did not finish his degree there. While at Dartmouth, he started a group called the Dartmouth Radical Union. This group was against Dartmouth investing in companies that supported apartheid in South Africa or the Vietnam War. Even though he was against the war, he joined the Marine Corps in 1972 after being drafted. He completed his basic training but was never called back for active duty.
In 1973, Hawkins joined the Socialist Party USA. He has been a member ever since. In 1976, he helped start the Clamshell Alliance. This group worked to stop the use of nuclear power in New England.
Starting the Green Party
In the 1980s, Hawkins became involved in the green movement. In 1988, he and Murray Bookchin created the Left Green Network. This group wanted to be a more radical option than other green groups in the U.S. It was based on ideas of social ecology and local community control.
In the early 1990s, Hawkins helped announce the start of the Greens/Green Party USA. Later, in 1999, he helped create a plan to combine different Green Party groups into one national Green Party.
Hawkins has run for many offices in New York. In 2010, he ran for Governor of New York. He received enough votes (nearly 60,000) for the Green Party to stay on the ballot. This was a big step for the party. Four years later, in 2014, he ran again and got even more votes. This moved the Green Party to a higher spot on the state ballot. In 2018, he ran a third time for Governor. He received fewer votes but the party still kept its ballot access.
In 2012, Hawkins was asked to run for president for the Green Party. He said no because his job at UPS would make it hard to campaign nationally. After he retired, a group of Green Party members asked him again. They wrote a public letter asking him to run.
In 2016, Hawkins was accidentally listed on ballots in Minnesota as the Green Party's vice-presidential candidate. This happened even though Ajamu Baraka was the actual running mate for Jill Stein. With Hawkins listed, the Green Party received more votes in Minnesota than in the previous election.
Hawkins' Political Ideas
In 1993, Hawkins supported ideas like anarcho-communism and libertarian municipalism. He believed these were the best ways to give workers and communities control. He also thought they could lead to a society without markets, money, or a strong government. Hawkins was also a member of the Industrial Workers of the World.
Hawkins does not agree with the idea of socialists working within the Democratic Party. He thinks socialists should create their own independent political party right away.
Hawkins was the first politician to include the Green New Deal in his election plan. He did this when he ran for Governor of New York in 2010. He supports the Green Party's version of this plan. It aims for 100% clean, renewable energy by 2030. It would also include a plan to guarantee jobs, free college, and healthcare for everyone. He describes himself as an eco-socialist and a libertarian socialist.
New York Politics
Howie Hawkins was the Green Party of New York's candidate for the United States Senate in New York in 2006. He received about 55,000 votes, which was 1.2% of the total.
In 2008, Hawkins ran for the United States House of Representatives. He lost to the Democratic candidate.
In May 2010, Hawkins was chosen to run for Governor of New York as the Green Party candidate. The Socialist Party of New York also supported his campaign. On November 2, 2010, Hawkins received almost 60,000 votes. This allowed the Green Party of New York to be listed on the ballot for the next four years. In December 2010, Hawkins became a co-chair of the newly recognized Green Party of New York.
Hawkins ran for a local council position in Syracuse in 2011 and 2013. He lost both times. In 2014, he announced his second run for Governor of New York. His campaign focused on a "Green New Deal" plan. He also wanted public funding for elections and a higher minimum wage. Hawkins and his running mate received over 184,000 votes. This moved the Green Party to the fourth line on state ballots for the next four years.
In 2015, Hawkins ran for Syracuse City Auditor. He lost this election, getting 35% of the votes. In 2017, Hawkins ran for Mayor of Syracuse. He suggested bringing back the Erie Canal through Downtown Syracuse. He believed this would help make the area more lively. Hawkins received 4.1% of the votes and lost.
On April 12, 2018, Hawkins announced his third run for Governor of New York. He and his running mate received about 95,000 votes.
2020 Presidential Campaign
Campaign Background
In 2012, Howie Hawkins was asked if he would run for the Green Party's presidential nomination. He said no because his job at UPS would make it difficult to campaign across the country.
However, after he retired, a group of Green Party members started a movement to encourage him to run. They sent him a public letter asking him to consider it.
The Campaign
On April 3, 2019, Hawkins announced he was thinking about running for president. He officially started his campaign on May 28, 2019, in Brooklyn, New York.
By August 2019, Hawkins' campaign announced they had met the requirements for federal matching funds in California and New York. This means they had raised enough small donations to get public money for their campaign.
On October 26, 2019, Hawkins won the nomination of the Socialist Party USA. He aimed to unite smaller left-wing parties. In November, he also won the nomination of the Solidarity party.
On May 5, 2020, Hawkins chose Angela Nicole Walker as his running mate. On July 11, 2020, Hawkins was officially chosen as the Green Party's nominee for the 2020 U.S. presidential election. His platform included the Green New Deal, healthcare for everyone, a federal jobs guarantee, and a higher minimum wage.
The 2020 election results were announced on November 3, 2020. Hawkins received 407,068 votes, which was 0.26% of the popular vote. He did not receive any electoral votes. This was the third-best result for a Green Party presidential candidate. Hawkins accepted that Joe Biden had won the election.
Images for kids
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Hawkins in 2018
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Hawkins in his 1970 high school yearbook
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Hawkins' Gubernatorial Performance
See also
In Spanish: Howie Hawkins para niños
