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 December 8, 1952) is an American trade unionist and environmental activist from New York. He helped start the Green Party of the United States. Hawkins was the Green Party's candidate for president in the 2020 election.
He believes in a plan called the Green New Deal. This plan focuses on protecting the environment and helping workers. Hawkins also wants to create a strong political movement for working people. He believes this movement should be separate from the two main political parties in the U.S. He has been involved in movements against war and nuclear power since the 1960s. Hawkins used to work as a truck driver for UPS before he retired.
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 got enough votes for the Green Party to stay on the ballot. This means the party could easily run candidates in future elections. He ran for Governor again in 2014 and got 5% of the votes. In the 2020 presidential election, he received about 0.2% of the votes.
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 when he was 12 years old. This happened after seeing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party not being recognized at a big political meeting in 1964.
After high school, Hawkins went to Dartmouth College. He didn't finish his degree there. While at college, he started a group called the Dartmouth Radical Union. This group protested against companies that supported apartheid in South Africa and the Vietnam War. Even though he was against the war, he joined the Marine Corps in 1972. He completed his training but was never sent to active duty.
In 1972, Hawkins helped with Bernie Sanders's election campaigns in Vermont. In 1973, he joined the Socialist Party USA, and he is still a member today. In 1976, Hawkins 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 part of the green movement. In 1988, he and Murray Bookchin created the Left Green Network. This group wanted to be a strong alternative to other Green groups in the U.S. It was based on ideas of social ecology and libertarian municipalism.
In the early 1990s, Hawkins helped announce the start of the Greens/Green Party USA. Later, in 1999, he helped create a plan to bring different Green Party groups together. This plan led to the formation of the Green Party of the United States.
Hawkins has often run for political jobs. In 2010, he ran for Governor of New York. He got almost 60,000 votes. This was important because it allowed the Green Party to stay on the ballot in New York for the next four years. In 2014, he ran again and got even more votes. This moved the Green Party to a better spot on the ballot.
In 2012, Hawkins was asked to run for president for the Green Party. He said no because his job at UPS made it hard to campaign nationally. After he retired, he was asked again by many Green Party members.
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 official running mate for Jill Stein.
Hawkins' Political Ideas
Hawkins supports anarcho-communism and libertarian municipalism. He believes these ideas can help create a society where workers and communities have control. He also used to be a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, a union for all workers.
Hawkins thinks that socialists should create their own independent political party. He does not agree with trying to change the Democratic Party from the inside.
Hawkins was the first politician to include the Green New Deal in his election plan. This was 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 also includes ideas like a carbon tax, a guarantee of jobs, free college, and single-payer healthcare. Hawkins calls himself an eco-socialist and libertarian socialist.
New York Politics
Hawkins has run for several offices in New York. In 2006, he was the Green Party candidate for the United States Senate. He received 55,469 votes, which was 1.2% of the total.
In 2008, he 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 for the Green Party. The Socialist Party of New York also supported his campaign. On November 2, 2010, he received almost 60,000 votes. This allowed the Green Party of New York to be on the ballot for the next four years. In December 2010, Hawkins became a co-chair of the Green Party of New York.
Hawkins also ran for Common Councilor in Syracuse in 2011 and 2013. He wanted to change state tax laws to get more money from wealthy people. He also wanted to share more money with cities. He supported a "commuter tax" on people who work in the city but live outside it. He lost both of these elections.
On April 9, 2014, Hawkins announced he would run for Governor of New York again. His plan included a "Green New Deal" and public funding for elections. He also wanted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Hawkins and his running mate, Brian Jones, received 184,419 votes. This was 4.8% of the total votes. This result moved the Green Party to the fourth line on state ballots.
In 2015, Hawkins ran for Syracuse City Auditor. He criticized the current auditor for not doing enough to check city budgets. Hawkins lost this election, getting 35% of the votes.
In 2017, Hawkins ran for Mayor of Syracuse. He wanted to bring back the Erie Canal through Downtown Syracuse. He believed this would help make the downtown area more lively. Hawkins got 4.1% of the votes and lost the election.
On April 12, 2018, Hawkins announced his third run for Governor of New York. He and his running mate received 95,716 votes, which was 1.7%.
2020 Presidential Campaign
In 2019, Howie Hawkins announced he was thinking about running for president. He officially started his campaign on May 28, 2019, in Brooklyn, New York.
His campaign met the requirements for federal matching funds in California and New York. This means they 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 wanted to bring smaller left-wing parties together. In November, he also won the nomination of Solidarity.
On May 5, 2020, Hawkins chose Angela Walker as his running mate. On July 11, 2020, Hawkins became the Green Party's official candidate for president. His plan included the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, a federal jobs guarantee, a $20 minimum wage, and a guaranteed minimum income.
On November 3, 2020, the election results were announced. Hawkins received 407,068 votes, which was about 0.26% of the total votes. He did not win any electoral votes. This was the third best result for a Green Party presidential candidate. Hawkins accepted that Joe Biden had won the election.
In 2022, Hawkins ran for Governor of New York again. However, the Green Party lost its ballot access in New York. This meant Hawkins had to run as an independent write-in candidate. He did not win, receiving a small number of write-in votes.
See also
In Spanish: Howie Hawkins para niños
