GREEN PARTY '98 CAMPAIGN

Links to Releases

Greens Condemn Court Rejection of Mumia's Death Penalty Appeal,
Greens Speak Out Againts Hate Crimes; Call for Increased AIDs/HIV Funding
Lewis and Greens Support Free College Tuition
Kovel Calls For National Health Care,
Lewis Urges Vallone to Debate; Blasts Syracuse Opposition to Manson Concert
Alice Green Calls for Welfare Grant Increase, "Education not Incarceration",
Greens Protest Monsanto, Genetic Engineering,
Lewis, Green Call for Community Police Control, Abolish Death Penalty, Rockefeller Drug,
Greens Challenge Exclusion from Debates
Greens Release Environmental Program: Toxic Waste Cleanup, Environmental Justice,
Supreme Court Rules Against "Grandpa" on the Ballot,
Hawkins Calls On McCall to Return Contributions from State Contractors.
Greens Oppose Legislative Pay Raise,
Greens Call for Campaign Finance Reform, Equal Access to Media, Proportional Rep,
Kovel Call for Community Ownership of NY Yankees,
Al Lewis Honored by the Smithsonian,
Kovel Provides Contrast to Schumer and D'Amato (Shumato)
Green Candidates Confront Police Racism,
Lewis Blasts Pataki for Signing Hudson River Park Bill,
Hawkins' Labor Day Call for Constitutional Amendment for Living Wage Jobs for All,
Alice Greens Calls on Donohue to Discuss Drugs and Criminal Justice,
Greens Criticize LCV Environmental Endorsement of Pataki ,
Kovel Supports Welfare Grant Increase and Job Guarantee,
Kovel Opposes US Bombings,
Save NY's Kids,
Moore Supports Same Sex Marriage,Medical Marijuana,
Green Party Files 33,000 Signatures,
Green To Continue Fight for "Grandpa",
Capital Protest of Jenna's Law,
Green Oppose Corporate Welfare for NY Post,
Greens Want "Grandpa Al Lewis" On Ballot,
Moore Announces for Attorney General,
Kovel Challenges Clinton on Kyoto,
Hawkins Announces for Comptroller ,
Alice Green for Lt. Gov. ,
Greens Oppose Jenna's Law ,
Greens Oppose Death Penalty ,
Kovel for US Senate

The Green Party Denounces Denial of Mumia Abu Jamal's Death Penalty Appeal - Will Help Mobilize Protests

October 31, 1998

Green Party members and candidates were solemn but fiery today in responding to the latest court decision rejecting the death penalty appeal of political and African-American activist Mumia Abu Jamal. The Green Party said it would actively support the myriad of protests challenging the decision and was prepared to offer legal assistance to the challenge. Mumia's attorney plans to go to federal court to seek a stay of execution.

The Greens have long supported Mr. Jamal's right to a new trial, believing that the first trial was marred by false testimony and racist behavior by the presiding Judge. A wide range of organizations, legal associations, legislatures and prominent individuals worldwide have called for a new trial.

Al Lewis, the Green Party candidate for Governor, and Alice Green, the Lt. Governor nominee, cited the Mumia case in announcing their opposition to the death penalty earlier this week. Lewis announced that as Governor he would commute all death penalties.

Earlier this year, some Green members had explored nominating former NPR reporter Mumia Abu Jamal to be a candidate for U.S. Senate. Dr. Joel Kovel, a physician and a professor at Bard College, accepted the Green Party nomination.

Dr. Kovel stated in response to the denial of Mumia Abu Jamal's final appeal by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court: "This is a day of infamy in the history of American jurisprudence. After long years of litigation that have conclusively proven gross errors of commission by the prosecution and firmly established a strong presumption of innocence--and after strenuous efforts by distinguished legal experts, a wide array of citizens and an international network of support--today's verdict strongly suggests that political factors, along with a heavy dose of vindictiveness, rule the court, and casts grave doubts on whether justice in America is possible for those who radically dissent from the ruling consensus."

"Mumia's case has taken on broad historical proportions that go beyond a cruel fate meted out to an innocent man. In a larger sense, it is no longer Mumia on trial, but the American system of criminal justice--and the evidence strongly suggests that this system has been found wanting in every fundamental respect. The odor of police brutality and racism hung over the case from the start, along with the frankly prejudicial and arbitrary behavior of Judge Sabo. Overshadowing everything has been the logic of capital punishment itself. This case proves as no other that once the death penalty is installed, all the malignant potentials of the state are activated. To sanction the taking of life by the state is to open the door to the systematic violation of human rights. Where the death penalty flourishes, justice withers," Kovel added.

Al Lewis, speaking at a 2:30 P.M. press conference at the Green Party's office in Syracuse, stated "Centuries of application of capital punishment have demonstrated that it is legalized murder, cloaked at best in an intent to punish violence with violence. We know from experience that capital punishment doesn't deter violence; it only perpetuates the State's ability to kill its own citizens, especially those who are poor or of color. The death penalty is a means by which repressive nations silence and extinguish unpopular political, religious and racial minorities. The death penalty also has a long history of executing innocent people," stated Mr. Lewis. Lewis has been active in many death penalty cases, from Sacco and Vanzetti, two union advocates falsely executed earlier this century, the Rosenbergs, and the more recent case of Mumia Abu Jamal.

Alice Green, who spoke today at Shawangwunk Prison Correctional Facility in Walkill at the Black Solidarity Day event, stated that "Mumia has been denied his right to a fair trial. His conviction is based on testimony by witnesses who have admitted they committed perjury due to pressure from the police. All too often we have sentenced innocent people, especially innocent people of color, to death. Al and I spoke out against the death penalty in Rochester along with Betty Tyson, who earlier this year was released from prison after 25 years after DNA evidence shows she was innocent of the murder charge against her. Jeffrey Blake, another African-American, was released earlier this week for serving eight years for a killing that he did not commit. Like Mumia, Blake was convicted based on perjured testimony. We have to stop allowing our urge for punishment when someone is killed to overwhelm our sense of fairness and justice," stated Dr. Green, Director of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany.

Data shows that there is a greater likelihood of being executed if your victim is white. Since the new death penalty law took effect in 1995 in New York, 18% of cases involving defendants killing white victims became eligible for the death penalty, compared with 6 percent in cases with a black victim. African-Americans have also been far more likely to receive either the death penalty or life without parole under the new law. Since 1995, no white defendants were given a death sentence and just four received life without parole, while one African-American received the death penalty and 22 others life without parole. Four Hispanics and one Arab immigrant have also received life without parole. (In 1996 in New York, 421 accused killers were black and 286 were white.)

Of the last 19 people executed in New York, 14 were African American, one Hispanic. Historically, New York has sent more innocent persons to their death than any other state. Twenty-nine New Yorkers were erroneously convicted in potentially capital cases, and eight have been wrongfully executed.

Similar racist trends have been seen nationwide. Of the 245 executions since 1977, only one involved a White person being executed for the murder of a Black person. Nationally, a person accused of killing a White person is 4.3 times more likely to receive the death sentence than an individual accused of killing a Black person (even though Whites and Blacks are victims of homicide in roughly even proportions).

Mr. Abu-Jamal had no prior criminal record or history at the time of the shooting in 1981, even though he had been under constant police surveillance for more than decade by the Philadelphia Police Department due to his political and journalistic activities, including reporting on allegations of police brutality in Philadelphia. Mr. Abu- Jamal himself was shot at the scene by the police officer who was killed. The killing occurred when Mr. Abu-Jamal, who was working nights as a taxicab driver, stopped his cab when he saw the police arresting his brother.

At Mr. Abu-Jamal's trial, he was denied legal representation of his choice and was barred from the courtroom for most of the trial. The main civilian witnesses at his trial had their own unrelated criminal charges (one on armed robbery) reduced in exchange for their testimony; most have since recanted. The Philadelphia Inquirer found that the Judge involved in the case was a "defendant's nightmare. Judge Sabo flaunted his bias, oozing partiality toward the prosecution." Sabo has sentenced 31 people to death, 29 of them people of color; that is more than twice as many death sentences than any other judge in the country. He has also had more of his capital cases reversed on appeal (11) than any other judge. A 1998 survey found that over one third of the attorneys polled thought that Sabo was unqualified to be a judge.

Lewis, Moore and Kovel Speak Out Against Hate Crimes
Greens Call for Increased Funding for AIDs / HIV programs
Will Encourage Diverse Group of Individuals to Run as Greens

October 28, 1998

Green Party Gubernatorial candidate Al Lewis, Attorney General candidate Johann Moore, and U.S. Senate candidate Joel Kovel spoke out today at the Gay and Lesbian Community Service Center against the deplorable rise in violence against the gay and lesbian community. The Greens also called for increased funding for AIDs / HIV programs.

Moore, the Green Party candidate for Attorney General and a longtime gay rights activist, urged gays and lesbians to leave the Democrats and Republicans behind. "My community, always considered solid supporters of so-called progressive Democrats, has really gone awry by looking at Republicans like D'Amato," said Moore, in reference to the D'Amato endorsement by a prominent national gay and lesbian organization. "It's clear the gay and lesbian community are unhappy with the Democrats. My community should support the Green Party, which has consistently supported our issues," added Moore, a member of ACT-UP and cofounder of the Medical Marijuana Buyers Club in New York.

As Attorney General, Moore said he would aggressively protect individuals with AIDs from discrimination and loss of privacy.

Al (Grandpa) Lewis, a long time civil rights and labor activist, deplored recent violence against gays and lesbians, "People are being lynched in the streets of New York and when they peacefully mourn the loss of a friend they're treated miserably by the mayor's minion's. We've got to fight this hate with the same ferocity as the civil rights movement did in the '60's."

The Greens said that they would offer their ballot line to a diverse array of progressive candidates if they become an official party by getting 50,000 votes for Governor. "We want candidates who will be able to speak up for those who are often ignored by the political establishment. We want women on welfare to speak out about the challenges of trying to support a family. We want people of color to speak about the reality of racism. We want gays and lesbians and people of color to speak out against the oppression and discrimination that still remains in our society. We want people living with AIDs and HIV to speak out against the inadequacy of the government's response to this problem. We want minimum wage workers to speak out against the fact that NY has the greatest income disparity in the country," stated Lewis, who called for an increase in the minimum wage to $10 an hour.

The Greens also announced their support for increased state and federal funding for programs to expand AIDS-centered research, education, and care programs.

"NY must emphasize universal access to a system of high-quality medical care and preventive services, including Medicaid, AIDS housing programs and legal needle exchange and harm reduction programs for drug users. New York should increase the emergency HIV rental allowance to the HUD market rent, target $15 million for AIDS supportive housing programs at the Department of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and target $5 million for operating AIDS housing in the Homeless Housing Assistance Program. New York should spend $3 million to maintain access to legal needle exchanges and HIV prevention services for IV drug users. New York should invest $3 million in specialized job training and welfare-to-work slots open to beneficiaries living with AIDS and HIV," stated Joel Kovel, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate.

The Greens support a health care system that provides quality health care to all New Yorkers regardless of their employment status. Al Lewis called for the immediate adoption of a single-payer, universal health care system. A single-payer system would eliminate the need for private health insurance, saving New York consumers $2.5 billion a year.

Green Party and Al Lewis Call for Free Tuition at SUNY and CUNY

Saying that students have a fundamental right to a quality college education, Al Lewis, the Green Party Gubernatorial candidate, said today that tuition should be free to students attending CUNY and SUNY.

"Education shouldn't be a privilege determined by the size of your parent's bank account or how fast you run on a football field. Pataki and the Assembly Democrats keep spending money to build more and more prisons but they won't spend those same funds to ensure that every New Yorker has the right to a quality education. You can't find a decent paying job today without a good college education. College today is as essential as a high school degree was thirty years ago. Democracy also works best when your citizens are as educated as possible," stated Al Lewis.

Lewis stated that the right to education and training should be a lifelong right. "New Yorkers should have the right to go back to school and vocational training to keep competitive in our ever changing high-tech economy," added Lewis.

Since 1995, Governor Pataki has proposed tuition increases totaling $1,650, cuts to SUNY of approximately $300 million, cuts to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) totaling $434 million and the complete elimination of the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP). Last year's budget cycle further affirmed the Governor's lack of support for SUNY. He vetoed all legislative restorations to the SUNY system, including increases in community college base aid (rescinded after grassroots pressure) and increases to child care programs. The lack of investment in SUNY on the part of the Governor has resulted in an overall drop in quality, accessibility and affordability of a SUNY education.

Lewis also announced support for increased funding for the Education Opportunity Program, community college, and campus-based child care. EOP is designed to help socioeconomically disadvantaged students attend college. It serves students from poorly-funded high schools by providing them with summer orientation and transfer programs, direct aid, tutoring and academic counseling. This program needs to be restored to 1994-5 levels. The Greens support restoring the statutorily required 1/3 base aid from the state for community colleges and would increase funding for student child care services by at least $5 million.

Lewis stated that he supports paying for local schools through the statewide income tax system rather than relying upon the regressive property tax. "The quality of a child's education should not depend upon the wealth of their community," stated Lewis. Lewis called for the State Legislature to immediately raise its contribution to the education system to at least 50% of the overall cost.

KOVEL CALLS FOR RADICAL OVERHAUL OF THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM - SUPPORTS NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
TO MAKE HEALTH CARE A RIGHT

Dr. Joel Kovel, running for the Senate on the Green Party, announced today that he supported making health care a right for all Americans. Kovel called for a universal National Health Insurance system paid for with progressive taxation. He also called for a National Health Service to give consumers and community groups democratic control of the health care industry.

"Health care must be a right, not a source of profit. We need to scrap the Managed Care system and return to that movement derailed by Clinton back in 1993--Single Payer, or National Health Insurance (NHI). By eliminating the insane duplication of the current system, by removing competition and the profit motive, and by making health care the responsibility of democratically elected institutions instead of private corporations, we can reduce costs while providing universal access," stated Kovel, a physician (a graduate of Columbia University) and a former professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

"The Democrats and Republicans have conspired to turn health care over to gigantic corporations for whom the well-being of individual patients, families and communities is strictly secondary to the making of money. Profiteering is the root of the evil of the health care system. Americans are proud of the technological prowess of their health care system, but widely disgusted with its injustices, wastefulness, costs and bureaucratic inhumanity. I was trained as a physician, spent twenty-five years in practice, and served for a time as Professor of Psychiatry at a medical school. I watched the corporate takeover of health with growing alarm, and left the profession when it seemed fully captured by this alien power," stated Kovel, presently a professor at Bard College.

Kovel detailed a number of problems with managed care:

- it leaves an ever-growing number of Americans uninsured--42 million by 1996;

- it introduces financial incentives to deny health care to sick insurees and for long-term care;

- it is enormously wasteful and costly. While managed care initially slowed down the rate of growth in health care costs because it introduced some competition in the oligolopolist health industries, costs are once again escalating, with premium rises of as much as 14% slated for next year. Overall, the U.S. spends more than 75% per capita than any other nation;

- it is bureaucratic and alienating. Between 1970 and 1996, the number of health administrators increased by a factor of 20, while the number of clinical personnel increased by 2.5. The prime purpose of this horde of bureaucrats is to keep sick people out and thus increase profits.

The proposals now on the board to increase accountability of HMO's, or to grant greater rights of redress to patients, are strictly cosmetic in Kovel's view, and distract from the main task of restructuring health care. Kovel called attention to gubernatorial candidate Peter Vallone's recent proposal that New York State guarantee universal health coverage as too little and too late.

"Peter Vallone has finally followed up the lead taken by Al Lewis (Green Party's gubernatorial candidate) and myself in this campaign, but typically, he has not taken it far enough. His program fails to address the real root of the problem in the corporate control of health. We need legislation at the national level that does not leave any loopholes for privatized care or that preserves the political power of the medical-industrial complex. We need both National Health Insurance, as a funding mechanism, along with a National Health Service, as the system of implementing this mechanism," stated Kovel.

Kovel envisions the National Health Service as a nationwide network of cooperatively managed health facilities under community control. The aim, in his view, is to democratize health care and make it maximally responsive to the people.

"National Health Insurance is a necessary but only first step in the transformation of our health system. It will provide the funding mechanism that allows the development of the next essential stage, which is the democratization of health care. NHI enables the self-determination of the producers of health care within a framework of democratically installed controls over the aggrandizement of power and the accumulation of profit. And it gives power to the consumers of health care through community-based centers of care. In addition, it is open to alternative healing systems, again within a framework of democratically installed standards," remarked Kovel.

Kovel is fully aware of the tremendous resistance among the two major parties and their campaign contributors to a National Health Care system. However, it is his view that people really want health care as a human right. "If we can get this message out, the people will lead the way toward a health system worthy of human beings. Thus, only a radical program can have the practical effect of making a change," stated Kovel.

The Greens are committed to ecology, grassroots democracy, nonviolence and social and economic justice.

Lewis Accepts Vallone's Offer to Debate
Blast Syracuse Officials for Censoring Manson Concert

Al Lewis, the Green Party candidate for Governor, announced today that he had accepted Peter Vallone's offer to debate. Lewis said that his staff had contacted Kevin McCabe, Vallone's campaign manager, to begin to negotiate the terms of the debate.

Lewis called upon George "Potatohead" Pataki to pull his head up out of the ground as soon as possible and agree to join in the debate. "Everyone knows that there will be at least one Gubernatorial debate. Vallone says he is open to third party candidates. It is time for Pataki to cut bait. I want to debate campaign finance reform, environmental protection, and job creation with these two shrills for corporate America," said Lewis.

Lewis also blasted Syracuse officials whom he accused of censorship in trying to block an upcoming Marilyn Manson concert. "I thought the situation was bad enough in NYC with Benito Guiliani stopping the First Amendment on the steps of city halls, denying permits to protest left and right, and using police to break up protests by African-Americans and gays. Now these knuckleheads in Syracuse want to ban a rock concert. McCarthy has risen from the dead," stated Lewis, who recent polls showed pulling more than 7% of the vote in his borough of Manhattan.

Lewis said he looked forward to being in Syracuse to celebrate Halloween. "These politicians are scared about a Marilyn Manson concert? Wait til Grandpa comes to town," chortled Lewis.

Lewis said that he expected Vallone, who has been nominated by the fledging Working Families Party, to insist that third party candidates be included in any gubernatorial debate. "If Working Families is going to be anything more than the wagging tail of the Democratic Party, they better insist that their flag bearer supports the right of third parties to fully participate in the democratic process."

Lewis also blasted WNBC, WRGB-TV and D'Amato and Schumer for staging two debates this weekend without including Green Party Senate candidate Joel Kovel, currently third in the polls.

Green Party Calls for Increase in Welfare Grants
Alice Green Demands "Education, Not Incarceration"

October 12, 1998

The Green Party took its Save NY's Kids campaign to Syracuse today, where it called for an increase in welfare benefits to bring families above the poverty line and for school finance reform to insure good schools in all communities.

Green Party Lt. Gov. candidate Alice Green led a contingent of five Green Party candidates on a visit to the Dr. Martin Luther King School in Syracuse, an elementary school that has been waiting for needed renovations for more than a decade. The school has problems with falling ceilings, rodent infestation, and the lack of lunch facilities, which requires that students to eat at their school desks. This year the King school was told again to wait until next year for renovations. The Syracuse School District suffered an $8 million budget cut this year, necessitating cuts of more than 200 teachers, the program for pregnant and parenting mothers, the program for advanced students, and cuts in athletics and library hours.

"How could the Democrats and Republicans stand by and let this happen? Why is there a brand new $60 million jail downtown while every year the Dr. King school is told to wait another year for renovations? Since 1980, state spending on prisons has increased at more than twice the rate of spending on schools. It seems the future they have planned for our children is jails, not jobs. I want the priorities reversed. If we are going to save New York's kids, we need to emphasize education, not incarceration," declared Dr. Green, who has a Ph.D. in criminal justice and masters degrees in education and social work.

Green joined with the Syracuse Green candidates for federal and state office in calling for a welfare grant increase.

Maria Whittington, the Green candidate for the 119th district assembly seat, said, "Poverty is the most immediate and critical children's issue and it can be resolved simply by an act of the state legislature. Over 25% of New York's children live below the poverty level and in Syracuse the child poverty rate is up to 40%. Two-thirds of welfare participants are children. But the typical welfare grant is only 52% of the federal poverty level and it has not been raised since 1990 even though it was below poverty then. It's an outrage that it is New York's policy to maintain children in such extreme poverty. For the sake of so many children in Syracuse and New York, the state legislature must enact a raise in welfare grants to bring children above the poverty level."

"Along with raising the welfare grant, the New York legislature should enact an Economic Bill of Rights," added David Linton, the Green candidate for the 120th district assembly seat. "The Greens goal is not just to raise welfare so that people just survive on it. We want to help people advance to economic self-reliance. That means we need an Economic Bill of Rights, including a public jobs program to insure the right to a job at a living wage, increased funding for child care to insure child care is affordable to all who need it, and a higher minimum wage so working people can support their families," said Linton.

The Green Party candidates also called for school finance reforms. The Green Party candidate for Comptroller, Howie Hawkins, said, "The reliance on the property tax to fund schools dooms property poor cities like Syracuse to high property tax rates and underfunded schools. We need a wholesale reform of the school financing system. The regressive property tax has low-income renters and middle-income homeowners paying more of their income in property taxes than people with high incomes. Schools should be funded out of a progressive statewide income tax with money distributed to local school districts by a clear and simple formula that funds all schools at a high common standard."

Yvonne Rothenberg, the Green Party candidate for Congress in the 25th district, called for federal legislation to require that states provide equitable school funding systems. "Parents and concerned citizens seeking equitable school funding have sued New York and many other states. But it takes years for these cases to make their way through the courts. We need immediate federal legislation to require equitable funding if we want to avoid losing another generation of kids in inadequate, underfunded schools," Rothenberg stated.

Other planks in the Green Party's Save NY's Kids platform call for state supplements to the federal food stamp program and the Women, Infants, and Children food program, universal health care, affordable housing for all, and strong children's environmental health measures to reduce exposure to the four major pollutants harming children: pesticides, lead, tobacco smoke, and groundwater contamination.

The Green Party's is committed to the principles of ecology, grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and social and economic justice.

GREENS PROTESTS MONSANTO'S ANTI-BIODIVERSITY EFFORTS AT NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

OPPOSES MONSANTO'S BIO-ENGINEERING PROGRAM

October 12, 1998

Dozens of Green Party activists gathered in Manhattan this morning for a colorful Columbus Day "speak-out" at the American Museum of Natural History.

The occasion was the recent opening of the museum's Hall of Biodiversity.

The Greens aren't against biodiversity--far from it. But they are outraged that one of the exhibition's major sponsors is the Monsanto Company.

"As far as we're concerned, Monsanto is the world's number one enemy of biodiversity," said Andy Zimmerman, an organizer of the event.

The term "biodiversity" refers to the natural genetic variability found in all living things. According to the exhibition, the earth is thought to be entering a major period of extinctions, due to the effect of human technology on the environment.

Monsanto, once the producer of PCB's and Agent Orange, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of toxic pesticides.

The company has paid millions of dollars in fines for pollution. The town of Times Beach, Mo. had to be evacuated after it was sprayed with Monsanto's dioxin-contaminated wastes.

In recent years, Monsanto has raised its profile by pioneering genetically engineered crops. Many scientists worry that the dangers posed by these novel creations outweigh their possible benefits.

Genes which were artificially inserted into crop plants have already been shown to spread to weeds through cross-pollination. Some experts raise the possibility of "super-weeds" spreading out of control.

Festooned with signs and costumes, the Greens gave holiday museum-goers something unexpected to think about. They handed out photos of a gene gun used by Monsanto for genetic engineering. The gun fires genetic material into plants using a .22-caliber shell.

Ben Abelson, a student at Stuyvesant High School, expressed revulsion at milk from cows treated with Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone.

Tuscan Farms, supplier to the New York City public school system, has refused to stop providing milk produced with the hormone.

Julia Willebrand, a Green State Senate candidate from Manhattan's Upper West Side, warned the crowd about "greenwashing," whereby corporations engaged in environmentally questionable practices try to burnish their image.

The Greens pointed to apparent contradictions between the text of Hall of Biodiversity exhibits and Monsanto's activities. For example, the museum urges visitors, "Find out how chemical-intensive or large-scale food production contributes to ecological disruption....Control your use of pesticides and herbicides."

Monsanto is a fervent promoter of large-scale, chemical-intensive agriculture.

Museum visitors are also asked to "Reflect on how the endless flood of advertisements ...manipulates your buying impulses and decisions."

As the Greens pointed out, the back page of Natural History magazine, published by the museum, was recently given over to a Monsanto advertisement.

Drawing a Columbus day connection, the Greens decried what they called "bio-colonialism."

Mitchel Cohen, a college teacher from Brooklyn, declared, "We say 'no' to the colonization of our genes."

He deplored the patenting of life forms, including human genes.

Ben Abelson's sister Maris, a graduate student active with the Manhattan Greens, said, "By marketing high-tech seeds to people in poor countries, Monsanto is undermining their traditional agriculture and their ability to feed themselves."

The speak-out was part of this month's Global Days of Action against Genetic Engineering.

Green Candidates Call for Community Control of Police
Urge Repeal of Death Penalty and Rockefeller Drug Laws

October 9, 1998

Alice Green, the Lieutenant Governor nominee of the Green Party, speaking today at a rally outside of the Arbor Hill police station in Albany, announced her support for legislation to make police brutality a federal crime and called for the resignation of Albany County District Attorney Sol Greenberg for his mishandling of the Jermaine Henderson police brutality case.

Dr. Green was joined by Green Gubernatorial candidate Al Lewis and State Comptroller candidate Howie Hawkins in calling for a repeal of the state's death penalty and Rockefeller Drug Laws.

"George Pataki, Al D'Amato and the Republican Party gleefully embrace the death penalty, while increasing number of Democrats such as Peter Vallone support it, after the Democrats conspired in its re-authorization by the State Legislature. The death penalty violates some of the most fundamental principles that the Green Party stands for -- namely, nonviolence and equal justice under law. Centuries of application of capital punishment have demonstrated that it is legalized murder, cloaked at best as an intent to punish violence with violence," stated Mr. Lewis, a long-time political and union activist.

" We know from experience that the death penalty does not deter violence; it only affirms and perpetuates the State's ability to use violence against its own citizens. We also know, based upon empirical study after study of the facts and statistics surrounding capital punishment, that such punishment has always been administered in a discriminatory, and biased manner. All too often death penalty cases are decided based on the color of the defendant's skin and the size of their bank account," stated Mr. Hawkins.

The Greens also called for increased prosecution of illegal behavior by corporations and other white collar criminals. More than 100,000 workers die per year die from occupationally-related disease and preventable accidents in the workplace - far more than the 24,000 homicides per year. Crime in the streets (räuber, burglary) costs $4 billion a year compared to corporate crimes in the suites, which cost $200 billion a year.

The Greens noted that Amnesty International earlier this week launched a year-long effort to protest the U.S. failure to "deliver the fundamental promise of rights for all. Across the country thousands of people are subjected to sustained and deliberate brutality at the hands of police officers."

"We need to establish strong, independent citizen review and control of our police departments. Local police departments must be held accountable to the residents that they are supposed to protect," stated Howie Hawkins.

"Every politician in Albany knows that the Rockefeller Drugs Laws are a disaster and should be repealed, yet the Legislature and Governor repeatedly refuse to act. Too many of our sons and daughters are stolen from their families and disappear into our prisons for years for relatively minor offenses. It is time to free our children," stated Al (Grandpa) Lewis, a frequent participant in vigils against the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

More than 90% of drug offenders in New York State prisons are there due to the Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Second Felony Offender Law. These laws mandate extremely harsh prison terms for the possession and sale of small amounts of drugs. First-time offenders convicted of possession of four ounces of narcotics, or sale of two, must receive a minimum of 15 years to life. This is the same penalty as for murder.

As of December 31, 1995, there were 8,586 drug offenders locked up in NYS prisons under the Rockefeller Drug Laws. It cost nearly $258 million per year to keep these offenders imprisoned. As of December 31, 1995, there were 5,834 people locked up in NYS prisons for drug possession, as opposed to drug selling. Nearly half of the annual commitments to NYS prisons are for drug offenses.

"The symbiotic relationship between most police departments and district attorney offices exposes communities of color to potential police abuse. There is a growing movement across New York to take the prosecution of police brutality out of the hands of local District Attorneys and make such actions a federal crime. I urge Albany and other communities across the state to examine the Jonny Gammage Law Initiative," stated Dr. Green, who has a Ph.D. in criminal justice. Dr. Green was Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives during the Cuomo administration.

The initiative is named after Jonny Gammage, a young African American cousin of professional football player Ray Seals who was killed on Oct. 12, 1995 by five Pittsburgh-area police officers. Mr. Gammage committed no crime. Although an inquest jury unanimously recommended charging all five officers with criminal homicide, the District Attorney Robert Colville has failed to vigorously prosecute them. Instead, he dropped charges against two of the officers.

Two Albany police officers have been accused of beating Mr. Henderson, a local African-American college student and basketball player, while in custody. Charges were recently dropped against the two officers since the District Attorney's office failed to require a waiver of immunity when the two officers were called to testify before a local grand jury.

Greens Call for Corporations to Pay for Toxic Waste Clean-up
Criticize Pataki for Opposing Federal Environmental Justice Proposal

October 9, 1998

The Green Party charged today that both the Democratic and Republican Parties were more concerned about protecting corporate profits than they were in protecting the environment or the health of New York residents.

"Pataki is the 'Brill Cream' environmentalist--'a little dab will do you.' With campaign contributions from polluters, his advertising barrage points to a few park land purchases. The payoff for corporate polluters is that Pataki lets the state superfund program run out of money, money which corporate polluters should be paying," stated Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for State Comptroller.

The Greens said it was time to move away from handing out permits to pollute and to begin a comprehensive ecological conversion of our industrial and agriculture systems to prevent pollution and depletion of natural resources. The Greens called for refinancing the state toxic waste Superfund cleanup program by increasing fees on corporate polluters; enacting strict consumer packaging laws to promote reusing and recycling materials; phasing out pesticides and promoting organic agriculture; increasing funding for mass transit; promoting energy conservation and renewable energy; and protecting natural habitats, including coastlines and wetlands, to promote biodiversity.

The Greens also called for tougher air emissions standards to cut down pollution from motor vehicles and electric power plants. Joel Kovel, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, had earlier called upon the United States Senate to take action to halt global warming, starting with ratification of the international Kyoto agreement on reducing hydrocarbon emissions.

"Its easy to be Green when all it means is a photo opportunity handing over the taxpayers' dollars to buy some land. What we need is a Governor who is willing to stand up to corporate polluters like Kodak and General Electric and make them clean up their wastes. It time for GE to open up their checkbook to get the PCBs out of the Hudson River," stated Al (Grandpa) Lewis, the Green Party candidate for Governor.

Alice Green, the Green Party candidate for Lt. Governor, criticized the Pataki administration for opposing a proposal by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to allow residents of communities of color to file complaints about the siting of polluting facilities.

"Low-income communities, particularly minority neighborhoods, have for too long been the dumping ground for environmentally hazardous projects. One needs to look to no further than the state-owned Albany ANSWERS garbage incinerator in Arbor Hill. Such facilities have a long-term negative impact on the health of the residents and the community," stated Dr. Green, Director of the Center for Law and Justice. The Greens said they would introduce Environmental Justice legislation to strengthen the ability of nearby residents to participate in the review of toxic waste facilities and to reduce the health risk posed by such plants.

The Greens accused both the Democratic and Republican Parties of selling out consumers and the environment in the battle over the deregulation of the electric industry.

"So-called energy deregulation in New York has in fact been a highly regulated bail-out of the electric utility industry's bad investments in nuclear power. The legislature bailed out and left us with a set of anti-ecological and anti-consumer deals cut in secret negotiations between the Public Service Commission and the investor-owned utilities. A Green government in New York would revisit this nightmare immediately and create a democratic and decentralized public system of energy production, transmission, and purchasing that shut down nuclear power and phased in clean renewables as it phased out dirty fossil fuels," stated Hawkins, a co- founder of the Clamshell Alliance that opposed the Seabrook nuclear power plant in New Hampshire.

Hawkins said that as comptroller he would institute Ecological Accounting and Auditing . "The Comptroller's Office should provide an honest accounting of the states fiscal health by introducing ecological accounts that measure the environmental assets and liabilities on its balance sheet. Those liabilities include $773 million to clean up hazardous substance sites and $1.8 billion to remediate the 200-300 state superfund hazardous waste sites. The Comptrollers Office should also run ecological audits parallel to its financial audits of governmental units. The ecological audits would improve the 'eco-efficiency' of government--doing more with less energy and materials to save taxpayers money and reduce harmful environmental impacts," added Hawkins.

The Greens also announced support for Eco-Taxes. "Over and above polluter fees to pay for the clean up of hazardous substance and waste sites, we need eco-taxes on ecologically damaging products. These specific taxes, which could replace the regressive across-the-board sales tax, would create market disincentives for ecological harmful products and incentives for ecologically benign products," added Hawkins.

Sponsor of First Senate Debate Reconsiders Exclusion of Kovel
Greens Challenge Democrats and Republicans to Debate All Candidates

October 8, 1998

The Green Party today challenged the Democratic and Republican Parties to agree to participate in a series of debates with the Greens for the upcoming election.

On Wednesday, WRGB, the sponsors of the first debate between Senate candidates told the Green Party that they continue to receive complaints about the announced exclusion of Green Senate candidate Dr. Joel Kovel from the planned debate on Saturday, October 24 and were reconsidering the format of the event in order to make it inclusive and democratic.

"I commend WRGB and hope that WNBC, the host of the second debate on Oct. 25, will put aside self interest and will instead open their doors to democracy. New Yorkers are already using their phone calls and faxes to the networks to vote for an open process and reject the media's self-appointed role of powerbroker. The race includes more bona fide participants than the two downstaters who continue to pay certain media corporations millions of dollars to broadcast their immature name-calling and negative campaigning. New Yorkers know that debates are way to hear from the candidates who are not millionaires," stated Kovel, a professor at Bard College.

WNBC producer John Sparks has so far refused to even ask Mssrs. Schumer and D'Amato if they would participate in a debate which included all legitimate ballot candidates.

" If given the opportunity, we might all be surprised to learn that they would advocate an open and democratic process and would support the right of New York voters to decide for themselves. The only reason that I'm on the ballot is because registered New York voters put me there. Until we take big money out of the electoral process and give free media access to all ballot candidates, we must rely on the sense of fairness and democracy to the mainstream candidates and their media. The media should not become a co-conspirator in this effort to deny voters their constitutional right to hear the candidates debate the issues," stated Dr. Kovel.

Green Gubernatorial candidate Al Lewis couldn't agree more. "So far, the networks haven't even been given the chance to exclude me from the debate. With the arrogance of the frontrunner, Pataki has refused debate invitations from WNBC and others. What would Peter Vallone and George Pataki possibly debate about?" queried Al Lewis. "They are the ones who have caused the problems that we have in New York State. What they need to do is to talk to the candidate that has the solutions to the problems that they have created. I don't think either one of them has the courage to debate me. I challenge both of them to debate me any time any where," added Lewis.

"We call on all other media and civic organizations who have issued invitations to respect the intelligence of New Yorkers and their ability to decide for themselves who to vote for," stated Kovel. The two forums at which both Senate candidates are scheduled to appear are on Oct. 24 at WRGB-TV in Schenectady and on Oct. 25 at WNBC-TV in New York City. Schumer said he had also agreed to appear at debates hosted by the League of Women Voters in New York City and Buffalo, another in Rochester sponsored by the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper, a WCBS forum in New York City and a Meet the Press debate in Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court Denies the Right of Grandpa to Be Included on Ballot
Al Lewis and Green Party Plan to Appeal

October 5, 1998

State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi today denied Al Lewis the right to include his nickname "Grandpa" on this fall's election ballot for Governor. (Not in dispute is that Mr. Lewis' name will appear on the November ballot).

Grandpa plans to appeal.

"It seems like the politicians in Albany don't want the public to know that Grandpa is running for Governor. They're afraid that someone who stands up for the average person rather than for their rich campaign contributors will get too many voter. They already have my name so far down on the ballot, on a second column, that it will take a Boy Scout with a good map to find the lever to vote for me. How many New York voters would have known the true name of Babe Ruth or Lefty Gomez? Why can't Grandpa be Grandpa?" queried Mr. Lewis.

"The law is clear that a candidate has a right to identify himself on the ballot so that voters can identify who he is. For the last 30 years, Mr. Lewis has been ‘Grandpa Munster' to the general public. We want to make sure that voters who go to vote for Grandpa Munster for Governor on November 3 can identify Al Lewis as the candidate they want to pull the lever for. We believe that adding Grandpa at the beginning of Mr. Lewis' name would accomplish that purpose and ensure a fair election," stated Mark Dunlea, an attorney serving as the Green Party's campaign manager.

Unlike the Board of Election, Judge Teresi did acknowledge that "Grandpa" was a nickname rather than a descriptive term as the Board of Election contended, since Mr. Lewis was known as "Grandpa" from his role on the Munster TV series before he became a grandfather. Previous rulings by the Appellative Division have held that "a candidate may be placed on the ballot under a name with the candidate has adopted in good faith and by which he has achieved recognition in the community." The Board of Elections has previously ruled that nicknames are permissible.

In denying the request to list "Grandpa" on the ballot, Judge Teresi wrote "To ascribe to the position urged by petitioner would leave a voter to wonder: "I cannot tell what the dickens his name is Shakespeare, "the Merry Widows of Windsor," act II, scene ii, line 20. The use of a nickname on the ballot would lead to unrelenting attempts by candidates to highlight the given name by a nickname, street name, stage name, title, degrees or any other name created by the fertile imagination."

Hawkins Demands McCall Return $1.8 Million in Campaign Contributions from Contractors; Calls for Elected Pension Board

October 5, 1998

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Comptroller, called on Carl McCall to return the over $1.8 million in contributions he has received from donors to which he awarded state pension fund contracts.

"Carl McCall should return all the campaign contributions from donors awarded contracts by the Comptroller. Even if no explicit quid pro quo can be proven, these campaign donations have the aura of bribery and kickbacks," said Hawkins, a developer of cooperative businesses in Syracuse. "McCall's defensiveness about these donations makes him no different than his Republican predecessor, Edward Regan, who was investigated by federal and state prosecutors for possible illegal contributions-for-contracts," said Mr. Hawkins

"The contributions-for-contracts problem is systemic," Hawkins said. "It is rooted in the corrupting system of privately financed elections combined ith New York's unique system of the Comptroller as sole trustee of the state pension fund. It is time for New York to do like other states and have a pension board. A single elected trustee can too easily be tempted to use the Comptroller's power to award contracts as an implicit solicitation of campaign contributions," Hawkins said.

Hawkins said it would be his policy as Comptroller to prohibit campaign contributions to the Comptroller from donors doing business with the state pension fund or any other business with the Comptroller's office. He advocates making that policy a state law. "A New York pension board should be structured like a negotiated joint union-management pension fund. Half the board should elected by the workers and retirees who are the beneficiaries and analogous to the union. The other half should appointed by the Comptroller who is elected by the taxpayers and analogous to management," Hawkins said.

"Just as the American revolution fought for No Taxation Without Representation, today we must fight for No Investment Without Representation," Hawkins declared. "An elected pension board would not only help solve the contributions-for-contracts problem. It would also be a better way to address how to vote corporate shareholder resolutions and the question of targeted investments for job creation and economic development," Hawkins said.

Hawkins noted that "the irony in this year's Comptroller's race is that it is the conservatives of Change-NY and the Republican Party who have exposed the progressive facade of the Democratic incumbent, Carl McCall. They have made him defensive about his conservative profits-before-people approach to pension fund investments and corporate shareholder resolutions."

"The pension board should be elected by the workers and retirees, whose deferred earnings are in the state pension fund, and by the taxpayers, who would have to bail out a failing pension fund, elect the pension board. Let the people most affected, through their elected board, decide where their interests really lie when corporate and financial managers oppose public interest shareholder resolutions and targeted economic development investments with claims that profits require the continued abuse of human rights, labor, and environmental standards, often in these workers', retirees', and taxpayers' own workplaces and communities," Hawkins said.

"I personally support aggressive targeted investing of state pension funds to re-develop New York's infrastructure and manufacturing base consistent with the prudent investor rule. I would especially target worker-owned cooperatives, municipally-owned enterprises, and enterprises owned by democratic non-profit neighborhood organizations. These types of investments would anchor to our communities plants and factories that have been leaving New York. Particularly in this time of financial contraction that threatens to precipitate a severe general economic contraction, I think such investments would be prudent financially for the pension fund as well as beneficial for New York's economy. But I would not want to be the sole pension trustee dictating this kind of allocation of investment. It should be a democratic decision by the people affected, the pension fund beneficiaries and New York's taxpayers," Hawkins said.

Hawkins said he would take his No Investment Without Representation slogan a step beyond an elected pension board. "We also need a public banking and insurance system in New York. The world financial crisis, exemplified in the massive and wildly speculative schemes of Long Term Capital Management, shows that we cannot trust the gamblers of private high finance to manage our credit and financial system. The fact that New York ranks 48th among the 50 states in job creation, despite being a center of world finance, shows we cannot count on private finance to meet our economic needs in New York," Hawkins said.

"It is time to revive the idea of a state bank, which passed the Assembly in 1975 only to die in the Senate. This time, however, the proposed state bank should have a much more democratic and decentralized structure. To put New Yorkers' personal savings in bank deposits, pension funds, and insurance reserves to work for New Yorkers, we should establish a federated system of public banks, governed by elected local, regional, and state Enterprise Boards who are assisted by competent staffing," Hawkins said.

The banks, as Hawkins envisions them, would offer the full range of banking services as well as auto and life insurance. He said health insurance should be provided separately by a universal health care program that is publicly funded by progressive taxes. The state Enterprise Board would manage the state's pension fund and cash assets as well as the time deposits and insurance reserves placed with it by individuals and businesses. The local Enterprise Boards would allocate the investment of household savings in their respective jurisdictions. The regional Enterprise Boards would invest in regional enterprises with mandatory fund allocations from the state board and voluntary investments from local boards in the respective region. Hawkins also said the state's $2.5 billion in "corporate welfare" subsidies and tax breaks through the state budget and local Industrial Development Agencies should be replaced with loan and equity investments made by the Enterprise Boards.

Hawkins said the public banking and insurance system should not replace private banking and insurance, but should serve as yardstick that could help regulators better assess the performance of private banks and insurance companies. "Two state-owned enterprises, the Bank of North Dakota and the State Life Fund of Wisconsin, have for over 75 years returned profits to their states while providing services for prices well below the industry standards. These examples show that public enterprise can work well and provide a yardstick by which to assess, for example, whether consumers are being gouged by private auto insurers. Public enterprise can provide an effective form of competition to make private enterprise more responsive to consumers," Hawkins said.

Moore to Participate in Albany Gay Pride March

October 4, 1998

Johann Moore, the first openly gay man to run for statewide office, will participate in the Capital Pride Parade and Rally in Washington Park on Sunday, October 4. Mr. Moore will be at the Park from 10 to noon.

Mr. Moore, who debated Democratic Attorney General nominee Elliot Spitzer on Saturday at the Environmental Advocates annual conference at Silver Bay, will also greet voters at the Clearwater's Annual Pumpkin Festival in Rensselaer from noon to 2:00 P.M..

Mr. Moore, the Green Party's nominee for Attorney General, has worked for many years with the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. He is also a founder of Cures Not Wars (a drug policy reform organization), and the New York Medical Marijuana Buyers' Club, which provides marijuana for medicinal purposes to people who are sick and dying.

Moore advocates legislation to legalize same sex marriages and the right of access to medicinal substances such as marijuana and various non-FDA approved medication presently approved in other countries such as in Europe and Japan.

Moore supports increased prosecution of corporate criminals. More than 100,000 workers die per year die from occupationally-related disease and preventable accidents in the workplace - far more than the 24,000 homicides per years. Crime in the streets (robbery, burglary) costs $4 billion a year compared to corporate crimes in the suites, which cost $200 billion a year.

Restoring environmental advocacy to the Attorney General's office is one of Moore's top priorities. Dennis Vacco, the incumbent, has gutted the environmental litigation unit, which was one of the most effective governmental units in the entire country before Vacco took office.

Grandpa Al Lewis Supports Legislative Pay Raise -
To Pay for One Way Plane Ticket to Timbuktu

October 2, 1998

Al Lewis, the Green Party candidate for Governor, announced today that he supports a pay raise for state legislators.

"State legislators only make about $1,000 a day. I'm sure that is what the average worker living in Albany brings home in their paycheck. I support a pay raise for these part-time legislators provided they use it to pay for a one way ticket, not first class though, to Timbuktu. The only other condition is that every six months they must send a postcard to their constituents back home telling them how they are doing," stated Mr. Lewis.

Speculation has grown in recent weeks that the state legislators will convene a special session after the election to vote themselves a pay raise. Legislators are presently paid $57,500 a year (two to three days a week for six months), plus per diems of $89 a day, plus as much as an additional $30,000 a year in "lulus" for serving on various committees. New York City legislators have been pushing for parity with City Council members in NYC, who are paid $75,000 a year.

The state constitution prohibits legislators from raising their salaries "during, and with respect to, the term for which they shall have been elected." Mark Dunlea, the campaign manager for the Green Party, sued the state legislature the last time they gave themselves a pay raise following the November 1984 election.

"It is clear the that intent of the State Constitution is to require that the legislator's salary be set before an election is held, so that voters can decide whether a particular candidate is worth the salary they would receive. Also, if you believe that a higher salary is needed to attract more qualified candidates, then the salary needs to raised before the candidates are selected, not after the election. When the legislators for the first time in 1984 raised their salaries after the election, they made sure to include pay raises for the judges who ruled on the constitutionality of the pay raise. It was improper for the Court of Appeals to have ruled on the pay raise since they had a clear conflict of interest. I still believe that the Constitution requires any pay raise to be approved before an election," stated Mr. Dunlea.

The Greens Demand that We Reclaim our Democracy
Call for Public Financing of Campaigns, Limits on Spending, Equal Access to Media, Proportional Representation and Automatic Voter Registration

"If the founding fathers had wanted American democracy to use dollar bills as ballots, they would have placed cash registers where ballot boxes now stand."

September 23, 1998

The Green Party today said it was time to stop the sale of government to the highest bidder, and called for a comprehensive overhaul of campaign finance laws, tight limits on spending, and equal access to the media.

The Greens noted that the major factor determining the victors in the recent democratic primaries was how much money each candidate had, either from their own pockets or contributions from special interests. "It is time to call a halt to this firesale on democracy. We have got to stop this legalized bribery of our politicians," stated Al (Grandpa) Lewis, the Green Party candidate for Governor, appearing on a morning news show on Fox TV in NYC.

The Greens also called for replacing our country's winner-take-all electoral system with a proportional representation style of election utilized by almost every other democracy in the world.

"No challenge is more fundamental for our democracy than the reform of the electoral process. Whether one counts the never-ending stream of scandals and investigations, or the brutal fact that voter participation has steadily declined to below fifty percent, it is clear that our system is not working. Fundamental causes of this decline lies with our winner-take-all electoral system and the rule of money over politics, a blight that increases despite all efforts at reform. The two established parties have become caught up in the sweepstakes toward ever larger donations from ever more powerful, and often identical, blocks of capital. There is, in short, one Big Business party in America with two wings locked in ritual combat over the spoils of office," stated Dr. Joel Kovel, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate.

Kovel joined with Lt. Governor nominee Alice Green in demanding that the corporate media provide free air time for all candidates on the ballot. The lion's shares of campaign funds are spent on advertising on television and radio. "Enough is enough," said Dr. Green. "When will we see that without the need to raise money for broadcast ads, we can actually focus on issues?" asked Green.

"The air waves are owned by the public. It is time that the public took back control of the air waves when it comes to selling candidates. Gone will be the need for corrupt fundraising in order to pay for inane thirty second television spots," stated Kovel.

The Greens called upon the media to quit covering campaigns as if the only thing that mattered was how much money a candidate can raise. "The media does a good job pointing out the sleaziness of campaign fundraising, but then turns around and treats money as if it was all that matters," noted Dr. Green.

The Greens restated their long-standing support for a public campaign finance system, such as the Clean Money option the Greens helped pass in Maine. Under such a system, qualified candidates for public office who pledge not to accept or spend any private money whatsoever during the primary and general election would be eligible to receive total public financing and other public resources with which to conduct their campaigns.

"We will never reclaim our democracy from the special interests until we get money out of politics. Newt Gingrich engineered the repeal of the luxury tax on yachts because his largest contributor make sails for them! The Clean Money option is a critical first step. We also need to amend the Constitution or otherwise overcome the U.S. Supreme Court's opposition to limits on campaign contributions and expenditures," stated Mark Dunlea, Chair of the Greens Legislative Committee.

The Greens also called for enactment of a proportional representation (PR) system similar to that found in virtually every other industrial democracy. "The two party system has clearly failed us as evidenced by the fact that a minority of eligible voters bother voting. PR will ensure that small parties are represented in legislatures, and that all voters feel that their vote matters. There's no other sure way to break through the alienation felt by the majority of Americans who don't vote," said Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Comptroller, speaking from Syracuse.

Under a proportional representation system, candidates elected to office (e.g., Congress, State Assembly) would be determined by the percentage of the votes each party receives. For instance, if a Party received 10% of the national vote, they would receive 10% of the seats in Congress. The Greens would have a mixture of single-member and proportional districts. For instance, in New York, the Greens would replace with the Senate and Assembly with a unicameral legislature. Half of the seats would be elected from single member districts and half from the party vote.

The Greens called for an automatic voter registration system in order to increase voter participation. "Voter registration works to limit the size of the electorate. Most citizens are unaware that they must preregister when they move. If every citizen automatically became a "registered voter" on their eighteenth birthday, turn out would surely climb steeply," added Dr. Green.

Kovel Calls for Public Ownership of NY Yankees
Seeks Referendum to Take Yankees by Eminent Domain

September 22, 1998

U.S. Senate candidate Joel Kovel held a press conference today in City Hall Park in NYC to call for a referendum to approve his plan to take over the New York Yankees by eminent demesne for the people of New York.

"Each time the Yankees go to bat next season, it should benefit all New Yorkers and not just a few corporate shareholders," stated an adamant Kovel. "This isn't simply about keeping the team in New York City for baseball fans, but about New York receiving a just return for the millions of dollars of corporate welfare that George Steinbrenner has received for decades from New York taxpayers."

Dr. Kovel, a professor at Bard College and long-time Yankee fan, believes that community ownership of the Yankees and other sports teams will reap benefits far beyond bringing an end to the corporate blackmail and threatened moves to New Jersey, used as a way of extracting hundred of millions of taxpayer dollars for a new stadium. "It's a win-win situation. Fans are secure in the future of their franchise and the profits generated by the team can be directed towards schools, parks and recreation for families and for other community needs. The Green Bay Packers provide a successful example of a true people's team."

" Mr. Steinbrenner should still receive a handsome return on his original purchase, even after adjusting the settlement in order to subtract the costs of providing the stadium, the renovations, parking, highway, subway, security and the other infrastructure costs that the community has invested in the Yankees over the last twenty-five years," concludes Kovel.

Green candidate Kovel believes that the ongoing reconsideration in the U.S. Senate of baseball's antitrust exemption should also provide the ideal opportunity to amend the Major League Baseball agreement in order to allow for community ownership. "Mayor Giuliani allegiance is clear. As long as he continues to block a referendum that would allow all New Yorkers to decide on the fate of the Yankees, meaningful change can only occur at the federal level."

After the transaction of ownership is complete, the city would then set up a democratically-elected organization that would govern the team's operation. Seats on this community-controlled organization would be apportioned by a system of proportional representation and campaigns for seats would be publicly financed. This would set an example for the dozens of other major cities that are homes to professional sports teams.

Kovel believes that the principle of community control works and municipalization of the Yankees is the first step towards stopping the hemmorage of public resources into private corporate pockets. "When I go to Yankee stadium as a fan, I'll also know that part of my ticket price is buying school books, subsidizing child care and supporting community needs."

Al Lewis Honored by the Smithsonian

September 19, 1998

Al Lewis, the 88-year-old Green Party candidate for Governor of New York, is the only Gubernatorial candidate this year to be included in an exhibit by the Smithsonian Institute honoring older Americans.

"Going Strong: Older Americans on the Job," is a traveling exhibition organized by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. According to the Smithsonian Institute, "the exhibition features excerpts from interviews, which movingly reveal how the individuals in the exhibition acquired singular skills and remained dedicated to a specific occupation longer after passing into what many Americans fondly think of as ‘retirement age' Ultimately, "Going Strong' inspires visitors to reexamine their own ideas about age and work."

"At some point in these lengthy careers," explains David Shay, exhibition curator at the National Museum of American History, "the values these people assigned to their work went far beyond mere financial gain to reach a higher level of commitment and satisfaction." The exhibit will appear in more than a dozen cities nationwide. (Smithsonian contact, Ely Muller, 202 357-3168 ext 118)

While Al Lewis is best known for his long career in television, radio and Broadway, he is also a longtime political and social activist. He was a union organizer in the south in the 30's and organized and served in the Merchant Marines in the 1940's. Twice the boats he served on were sunk by the Nazis. He obtained a Ph.D. from Columbia University. In addition to his roles on television on Car 54 and Grandpa Munster, he taught political history to the Black Panthers and has been active in political trials such as Sacco and Vanzetti, the Scottsboro boys, Bobby Seal and Mumia Abu-Jamal. He presently hosts a public affairs radio show on WBAI, a Pacifica affiliate in NYC.

As the Green Party candidate for Governor, Mr. Lewis is calling for campaign finance reform, a state constitutional amendment to guarantee a job for all at a living wage, and strong environmental protection. Mr. Lewis and his Lt. Governor candidate, criminal justice and civil rights activist Alice Green, have also launched the "Save N's Kids Campaign." More than one out of every four children in New York State lives in poverty. Mr. Lewis supports universal child care and health care; free school meals for all children; and a raise in welfare benefits.

Joel Kovel Provides Contrast to Schumer and D'Amato

September 15, 1998

The close of the primary season opens the final race to the November 3d finish line. Chuck Schumer, judging from his acceptance speech, wants to show how tough he is on crime; while Alphonse D'Amato will be telling us how much he "cares," and how "hopelessly liberal" Schumer is. Look beneath the platitudes, however, and you will see two instruments of Wall Street each defending the status quo. Welcome to the candidacy of "Schumato".

As for myself, running for the Senate on the Green Party line, I pledge to take on the issues that don't get spoken about by the two official parties--issues that go to the heart of the domination by big money over politics. Here are some of the things I will be fighting for.

* National Health Insurance--yes, the same good idea Bill Clinton derailed in 1993, when he saddled us with the hopeless and inhuman managed care system.

* real electoral reform. I want guaranteed media access for all candidates. The airwaves belong to the people. We need to overhaul our campaign finance laws, including public campaign financing so that special interests can't buy our elected officials.

* I'm tough on crime, too, but the criminals I want to go after are in corporate boardrooms: the swindlers, the polluters, the men who sell our jobs down the river.

* I want to abolish the death penalty, build schools not jails, and create job programs that get at the real root of crime.

* Perhaps most of all, I want to bring about a debate on global warming, and get us to make the really tough decisions necessary to stop it.

Global warming is the Senate's responsibility, but until now, a shortsighted and deadly silence has reigned over this, the greatest threat facing civilization. However, global warming does not wait, even if its manifestations appear sporadically. Recently a friend lost both his home, and, a few blocks away, his office, in the dreadful storms that ravaged Syracuse. He was less unlucky than the three people who lost their lives. We have to stop thinking of events of this sort as "Acts of God," and realize instead, first, that they are the product of industrial activity; second, that they are bound to get worse and worse as greenhouse gases accumulate and trap more energy in the atmosphere; and third, that global warming can be reversed--if, and only if, we have the courage and vision to do so. Will the politicians get the message? Only if we give it to them strongly enough. And we must, for the future is at stake.

Green Candidates Confront Police Racism
Green and Kovel Call for Civilian Oversight and Federal Prosecution of Police Brutality

September 12, 1998

Alice Green, the Lieutenant Governor nominee of the Green Party, stated today that urgent corrective action is needed to give people of color faith in the criminal justice system. Dr. Green announced her support for legislation to make police brutality a federal crime and called for the resignation of Albany County District Attorney Sol Greenberg for his mishandling of the Jermaine Henderson police brutality case.

Dr. Joel Kovel, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, stated that the fear of police among people of color has a negative impact upon their health. Dr. Kovel joined Green in calling for strong, independent citizen oversight of the police department, including holding management accountable for the actions of their subordinates.

"Pervasive police violence against young black and Latino men creates a climate of fear that wears away at their families and especially their mothers. Such families also face stress from insecurity over lack of health care coverage and a poor job market. Combined with the physical effects of exposure to toxic wastes, poor diets, and air pollution that our economic and political system inflicts upon low-income neighborhoods, it is no wonder life expectancy is so much lower among poor urban communities of color. The only question is when are we going to make the fundamental changes necessary to reverse this vicious cycle of despair and illness? " stated Dr. Kovel, formerly Director of Psychiatric Training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Kovel's book, White Racism: A Psychohistory, was nominated for a National Book Award.

Green and Kovel spoke in conjunction with a conference in Albany held by the Black Women's Health Project.

A report issued earlier this year by the Center for Law and Justice, of which Dr. Green is Executive Director, documented that mistrust of the police continues to exist in African American and Latino families in Albany. African-Americans are eight times more likely to be charged with a crime and imprisoned than whites. The report found that serious physical, psychological and economic harm is done to victims of police brutality and their families.

"The symbiotic relationship between most police departments and district attorney offices exposes communities of color to potential police abuse. There is a growing movement across New York to take the prosecution of police brutality out of the hands of local District Attorneys and make such actions a federal crime. I urge Albany and other communities across the state to examine the Jonny Gammage Law Initiative," stated Dr. Green, who has a Ph.D. in criminal justice. Dr. Green was Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives during the Cuomo administration.

The initiative is named after Jonny Gammage, a young African American cousin of professional football player Ray Seals who was killed on Oct. 12, 1995 by five Pittsburgh-area police officers. Mr. Gammage commited no crime. Although an inquest jury unaminously recommended charging all five officers with criminal homicide, the District Attorney Robert Colville has failed to vigorously prosecute them. Instead, he dropped charges against two of the officers.

Two Albany police officers have been accused of beating Mr. Henderson, a local African- American college student and basketball player, while in custody. Charges were recently dropped against the two officers since the District Attorney's office failed to require a waiver of immunity when the two officers were called to testify before a local grand jury.

Lewis Blasts Pataki for Signing Hudson River Park Bill
Calls it a Commercial Development Scam

September 8, 1998

Al Lewis, the Green Party candidate for Governor, criticized Governor George Pataki today for signing the Hudson River Park Act. "This so-called Green Governor has sold New Yorkers a bill of goods. The Hudson River Park is waterfront commercial development disguised as a park, and places important Hudson River and East Coast fishery resources in grave jeopardy. This is the first step in the privatization and commercialization of New York State's parks and public lands. This bill is nothing more than a ‘for sale sign' for public parks. Let the wheeling and dealing begin," stated Grandpa Al Lewis.

"This is a strip mall disguised as an esplanade, " stated Julia Willebrand, the Green candidate running for State Senate from Manhattan (Sen. Leichter's district).

The Hudson River Park has often been described as the "son of Westway". After real estate developers were defeated in their efforts to fill in part of Hudson River under the guise of rebuilding the West Side Highway, they decided to promote a "park" as a cover for their development projects. The legislation signed today by Governor Pataki creates a new public authority and gives it long term control over nearly five hundred acres of critical aquatic habitat in the lower Hudson River. The Park's construction, operation and maintenance will be funded by various commercial developments in the park. The current price tag for the Pataki park plan is $425 million.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Marine Fisheries Service have joined the Fish and Wildlife Service in opposing permits requested by the Pataki Administration for major development activity in the river on the grounds that it will "encourage the degradation of fish and wildlife habitats". The proposed development falls within an area of the lower Hudson River estuary which "is considered among the most productive systems for fisheries along the Northern Atlantic Coast."

Commercial waterfront development projects around the country rarely produce the excess revenue to support parks or other public needs as promised. New Yorkers are currently subsidizing the privately held Chelsea Piers entertainment and studio complex in the Hudson at 23rd Street in Manhattan under a long term lease negotiated by the Pataki administration.

Lewis was joined by Willebrand in criticizing Pataki for the refusal by the State Urban Development Corporation, the lead agency producing the area's general project plan, to include in its environmental impact statement the alternative of a parks agency constructing and managing a genuine park. The Greens called for the existing Environmental Impact Statement to be thrown out and a new one written.

Labor Day Statement of Howie Hawkins
on Need for a Constitutional Amendment to Guarantee A Living Wage Job for All

September 6, 1998

On Labor Day 1998, as New York faces the prospect of a recession with unemployment already high, the Green Party wants to revive the call for jobs for all. Over 1 million new jobs need to be created in New York to have real full employment.

If we are to recognize the right to a job at a living wage as a fundamental right, we should make that right part of our fundamental law—our constitution

In New York today, we stand at the end of a long, but now sputtering, recovery ranking 48th among the states in job creation. Unemployment in New York City is over 9% by official count and 15-20% if we add in those who want to work that the government doesn't count. The economy in upstate cities and rural areas is in even worse shape. Joblessness upstate would be as high as New York City if so many thousands of people had not left the state in search of work.

We say we believe in the work ethic. But our government doesn't support it. If it did, it would guarantee everyone the right to a job at a living wage.

The gap between the rich and poor is growing in New York faster than in any other state. Contrary to national trends, many of the wage and income inequality trends of the 1980s have accelerated in the Empire State during the 1990s, rather than slowing down.

The right to a decent job ought to be as automatic as Social Security. But politicians today don't even talk about real full employment, that is, zero unemployment. Government policymakers want to call 4% or 5% or even 6% unemployment "full employment."

At the end of World War II it was different. President Roosevelt's State of the Union address in 1944 called on Congress to enact "An Economic Bill of Rights," the first being "the right to a useful and remunerative job."

Roosevelt's Republican opponent in that year's presidential election, New York Governor Thomas Dewey, declared, "If at any time there are not sufficient jobs in private enterprise to go around, the government can and must create job opportunities, because there must be jobs for all in this country of ours."

Although there was federal legislation passed in the 1940s and again in the 1970s that gave lip service to full employment, these bills were gutted of effective public jobs programs by the lobbying of powerful business interests. Indeed, corporate-dominated government has made it public policy to keep unemployment high enough to keep workers' bargaining position weak and wages down.

Since it is easier (although not easy) to pass an amendment to the New York Constitution than to the U.S. Constitution, we should start with a campaign to amend the New York Constitution. An effective New York campaign could instigate a national movement to put the right to a job at a living wage into the US Constitution.

A constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to a job at a living wage would oblige the legislature to make the government the employer of last resort. It would give jobless citizens a judicial remedy to their unemployment if the legislature failed to act.

We should not, however, wait for a constitutional amendment before demanding legislation that creates public jobs. Private jobs are good, but public jobs are necessary for full employment.

New York's current job creation policies are based on tax cuts for the rich and "corporate welfare" subsidies and tax breaks. By giving rich folks even more money—or so this theory of "trickle down economics" goes—the government will stimulate more private investment, which will create jobs and other benefits that "trickle down" to the rest of us.

The reality is different. The rich have taken that extra cash and used it to rearrange corporate ownership through mergers and stock speculation and to export jobs by investing abroad to exploit cheap labor in repressive countries. Income inequality has grown radically in New York, with the richest 20% receiving 20 times more income than the poorest 20%, making this state the most unequal by far in the US, which is the most unequal industrial country in the world.

"Trickle down" economic policy in New York has meant that the top state income tax bracket has been cut repeatedly over the last 20 years, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, from 15% to 7%. Corporate welfare now totals $2.5 billion a year in New York. Despite all this tax cutting and corporate welfare, New York lost much of its industrial base during these same 20 years.

Instead of the indirect, Rube Goldberg-type policy of trying to stimulate job creation with high-end tax cuts and corporate welfare, the direct approach of creating public jobs in public enterprises, public works, and community services is a more efficient use of taxpayers' money. Countless studies document that dollar for dollar, public spending to employ workers directly creates many times more jobs than tax cuts and corporate welfare.

We know how to create public jobs. We did it for millions with the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and the Comprehensive Training and Employment Act (CETA) in the 1970s. The biggest shortcoming of these programs was that they were not funded at a level sufficient to employ everyone seeking work.

Full employment is not enough, however. Slavery was full employment. Under today's "workfare" regime, welfare recipients are required to work off below-poverty welfare and food stamp grants at minimum wages and without the labor law protections of other workers.

Public jobs should be permanent jobs that pay a living wage and provide useful goods and services, not workfare slavery, nor merely temporary, make-work positions. A family-supporting living wage today means at least $10 an hour.

There's plenty of work to do building affordable housing, rebuilding the mass transit and railroad systems, rebuilding our cities' infrastructures, cleaning the environment, installing solar energy systems, and staffing child care centers, community health care centers, youth recreation centers, and public schools. The biggest job of all will be converting industry, agriculture, and our cities and homes to ecologically sustainable technologies based on renewable energy and recyclable, nontoxic materials, a job that should keep our society fully employed for a generation.

There's plenty of money to put people to work. There's $2.5 billion in New York corporate welfare and New York's share of the $100s of billion more in federal corporate welfare and porkbarrel military spending. There's at least $5 billion in additional state income tax revenue from the richest 5% (income over $100,000 for individuals, $200,000 for families) if we restore the rates on the highest incomes that existed 20 years ago. If we take the rich off welfare, we can put New York back to work.

The wage bill for putting a million unemployed New Yorkers to work at full-time jobs at $10 an hour would be $20.8 billion. However, much of their work would generate revenues and help cover the wage bill in such areas as housing, solar energy, railroads, and mass transit.

In addition, full employment would cut welfare costs and eliminate unemployment insurance costs. And, as the most effective anti-poverty program and therefore anti-crime program, full employment would reduce the skyrocketing costs of crime, police, courts, and jails.

Put all these together and a well-designed full employment program should pay for itself. Without it, New York will continue to bear the enormously high costs of wasting a million people's lives and labor, not to mention what joblessness does to the human spirit and our sense of community.

The obstacles to full employment are political, not economic. While the Democrats and Republicans have abandoned even a rhetorical commitment to full employment, the Green Party has made the right to a job at a living wage one of its central goals. It's time for a change.

Howie Hawkins of Syracuse is the Green Party candidate for State Comptroller. Howie Hawkins is Director of the CommonWorks, a federation of cooperative businesses and community organizations in Central New York that work for an economy that is cooperatively owned, democratically controlled and ecologically sustainableThe Greens are also running Al Lewis for Governor; Alice Green for Lt. Governor; Joel Kovel for U.S. Senate; and Johann Moore for Attorney General.

Alice Greens Calls on Mary Donohue to Agree to Lt. Gov. Debate on Drugs and Criminal Justice

September 4, 1998

Dr. Alice Green, the Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor, called upon Republican Gubernatorial candidate Mary Donohue to agree to participate in a series of public forums on the need to overhaul the state's drug sentencing laws. Dr. Green stated that she was disappointed that Ms. Donohue, a former judge and district attorney, had not responded to a personal letter from Dr. Green requesting such a debate.

Mary Donohue's daughter was recently arrested for possession of marijuana but was released following the issuance of an appearance ticket. Dr. Green noted that low-income inner city youths are often treated quite differently in such circumstances. African-Americans and Latinos comprise 94% of the drug offenders in the New York State prison system, although a majority of people who sell and use drugs in New York are white. The Green Party has been active in calling for a repeal of the notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws, which mandates long prison sentences for even first time offenses involving the possession of relatively small amounts of drugs.

"The Million Youth Marches in Atlanta and New York City this weekend have already drawn attention to some of the major problems facing our young people, white and black. Unfortunately, drugs are destroying the lives of so many of them. We must do more to prevent drug abuse and provide treatment to those already affected. I hope that Ms. Donohue will have a new understanding of the problem and will be willing to discuss this publicly," stated Dr. Green, who has a Ph.D. in criminal justice.

As of December 31, 1995, there were 8,586 drug offenders locked up in NYS prisons under the Rockefeller Drug Laws. It cost nearly $258 million per year to keep these offenders imprisoned. As of December 31, 1995, there were 5,834 people locked up in NYS prisons for drug possession, as opposed to drug selling. Nearly half of the annual commitments to NYS prisons are for drug offenses.

Several studies sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse have shown that drug treatment programs, on the whole, are successful in reducing the levels of drug abuse and crime among participants and in increasing their ability to hold a job. In NYS there are about 860,000 drug addicts and only 71,098 publicly funded drug treatment slots. The cost of keeping an inmate in NYS prison for a year is about $30,000. In comparison, the costs of most drug free outpatient care runs about $2,700-3,600 per person per year. The cost of residential drug treatment is $17,000-$20,000 per participant per year.

Dr. Green, Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives during the Cuomo administration, noted that the Pataki administration has slashed funding for drug treatment programs in prisons.

Dr. Green is running with political activist and actor Al Lewis for Governor. The Greens are committed to ecology, grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and social and economic justice.

August 27, 1998

The Honorable Mary Donohue
3 Winfield Lane
Troy, NY 12180

Dear Mary:

I was sorry to learn about the arrest of your daughter. This must be a very difficult time for you and your family.

As you may know, I work with numerous families touched by drug abuse, arrest and incarceration. They too suffer the pains that come with these types of unfortunate experiences. As a matter of fact thousands of New York families are hard hit, suffering family disruption or destruction caused by long prison sentences mandated under the Rockefeller Drug Laws and Second Felony Offender Law.

As a mother and candidate for statewide public office, I am deeply concerned about the way New York handles our drug problem. We needlessly incarcerate far too many of our citizens, including our children, for low-level drug offenses. On the other hand few resources are put into drug treatment and crime prevention programs to solve the problem.

I believe that all New Yorkers would benefit from a serious public discourse on the state's drug sentencing policies. As a former district attorney and judge you could bring much to such a forum.

Therefore, I am hereby proposing a public debate on this issue between you and me. I would be open to allowing other candidates to join us in such a forum.

Why don't you give me a call by Tuesday, September 1 to respond to this request? I am prepared to make myself available at any time or location to facilitate this important discourse.

I early await your response to this request.

Sincerely,

Alice P. Green, Ph.D.

Greens Accuse LCV of Selling Endorsement for Pataki Fundraising Assistance

September 3, 1998

The Green Party criticized the League of Conservation Voters' decision to endorse George Pataki for Governor as a "payback from an political action committee to their major fundraiser". Pataki helped LCV more than one million dollars by appearing at their major annual fundraisers in 1997 and 1998, black-tie dinners at the Pierre Hotel in NYC.

"The LCV has been willing to sell out environmental concerns in New York State in exchange for George Pataki helping them to raise money. The only environmental issue that LCV has actively worked on in NYS was the environmental bond act of two years ago, something that the Governor asked them to do. LCV has provided political cover to Governor Pataki while he has gutted environmental enforcement, refused to make corporate polluters pay to clean up toxic waste dumps, spent billions to bail out utility shareholders for failed nuclear power plants, and appointed perhaps the worst DEC Commissioner in the history of New York State," stated Mark Dunlea, Chair of the Legislative Committee of the New York State Greens. Dunlea was endorsed by LCV when he ran for State Assembly in 1992.

The Green Party is recognized world wide for its leadership in the environmental community. However, LCV made its endorsement of Pataki without bothering to interview Al Lewis, the Green Party candidate for Governor. LCV only recently sent the Green candidates a questionnaire to fill out, after repeated requests by the Greens, and after LCV had already decided to endorse Pataki. While LCV required Democratic candidates to respond to a questionnaire detailing their positions on various environmental issues, while it appears that Pataki was not required to do so.

"The Pataki administration has made it clear that they believe it is more important to help businesses increase their profits than it is to protect the environment. George Pataki has gutted environmental enforcement, and has refused to hold companies like General Electric and Kodak responsible for the massive environmental pollution that have generated. The Greens believe it is time to stop handing out permits to pollute and instead make sure that we make our environment pollution free for future generations. It is particularly important that we address environmental health issues that hurt children, such as exposure to pesticides, lead, tobacco smoke and groundwater contamination. LCV is more concerned with getting their picture taken with George Pataki than they are with protecting our environment," stated Al Lewis, the Green Party nominee for Governor.

Lewis said that one of his first steps as Governor will be to propose refinancing the state superfund program to make corporate polluters pick up all of the costs of cleaning up toxic waste sites. Lewis also supports steps to eliminate the use of pesticides. On September 17, the Greens will launch a statewide campaign to pressure the United States Senates to ratify and strengthen the international Kyoto agreement to combat global warming. The Greens will also participate in the October 15 international day of protest against bioengineering. The LCV-endorsed Pataki has not provided leadership on any of these key issues.

"This deplorable incident is a reminder of the need for a new politics of the environment in America. The corporations hire the politicians and finance the high profile citizen groups--and the mainstream press broadcasts the news to the world. We are now supposed to believe nature is being protected. But in fact it is only being greenwashed, while the destruction goes on out of sight. Not until we have a grassroots democratic movement in power will the environment be protected. In other words, Pataki must go, not be honored" stated Dr. Joel Kovel, a college professor and author who is the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate.

Kovel Supports Welfare Grant Increase and Job Guarantee

August 22, 1998

Dr. Joel Kovel, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, announced today his support for an increase in welfare benefits and a Constitutional amendment to guarantee a living wage job to everyone who wants one. Kovel spoke at the Stop the War Against People on Welfare on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 1:00 P.M. at City Hall in Manhattan.

Kovel is a harsh critic of the decision by Democratic leader Bill Clinton on Aug. 22, 1996 to repeal the federal safety net for poor children and women, a safety net that was enacted after the Great Depression. Kovel also criticized Clinton's decision to bomb Sudan and Afghanistan, saying you don't respond to terrorism with terrorism.

Kovel announced his support for the Green Party's Save NY Kids campaign. More than one of four children in New York lives in poverty, more than twice the rate of any other industrial country. Children are the principal victims of welfare reform. Kovel will propose an increase in the welfare grant; enactment of a children's allowance; universal child care, health care and school meals; and, a federal and state constitutional amendment to guarantee a Living Wage job for all New Yorkers.

Kovel spoke out against Republican leader Rudolph Giuliani's welfare reform efforts, particularly his failed workfare program. Kovel supports the right of workfare workers to a job with a paycheck and the right to unionize.

"If you want to create jobs, you don't impose time limits on helping poor kids and women, you slash the corporate welfare budget, starting with our bloated military budget," stated Kovel. The Greens support at least a 50% cut in the military budget. Kovel noted that Mark Green, running the in Senate Democratic Primary, recently announced that he was only willing to cut military spending by 7.5%. The U.S.'s military budget is larger than the next ten countries combined - and many of these are our allies. Kovel also repeated his opposition to the U.S. Bombing.

Green Party's Kovel Opposes US Bombing

August 20, 1998

The Green Party candidate for US Senate from New York, Dr. Joel Kovel, criticized today the decision by President Bill Clinton to bomb sites in Afghanistan and Sudan

"Its past time for this country to outgrow its penchant for militaristic violence, especially in this kind of tit for tat response. This is precisely the wrong way of dealing with the people who committed the vicious attacks on US embassies," Kovel stated, the former Director of Psychiatric Training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

"No doubt, some damage will be done. But there is no chance at all that groups of this sort will be intimidated by bombing raids. To the contrary, they feed off of a reaction of this kind, which brings the United States to their level, isolates it in the world as the single gendarme taking on all comers, and raises them in the estimation of their people. Actions of the taken by the Clinton administration sort are recipes therefore for a continuing and widening cycle of violence," remarked Kovel.

"Of course, actions of this kind are also tremendous public relations coups for the President. One would hate to think that this was the motive for undertaking the bombing, especially with the President in such hot water. It would be an act of utter cynicism in that case, and one does not want to think of the US in such a light. Be that as it may, however, it is hard to escape the conclusion that the principal object of the bombing was US public opinion. This is doubly unfortunate, as it only reinforces a prevalent demonization of Islamic peoples and distracts us from facing the real situation. The fact is, that despite Secretary Cohen's claim that the United States represents "the long arm of justice," to much of the Islamic world we appear as exactly the opposite, namely, as the enforcer of a deeply unjust system organized around the maintenance of petroleum supplies, and the sustenance of Western imperialism through the agency of our client state, Israel. So long as this perception is grounded in fact, we will suffer the consequences, and no amount of police work or bombing runs will make an iota of difference."

Kovel is a doctor, college professor, author and peace and social justice activist from Woodstock NY.

The Greens are running Al Lewis for Governor; Alice Green for Lt. Governor; Howie Hawkins for Comptroller; and, Johann Moore for Attorney General. The Greens are committed to ecology, grassroots democracy, nonviolence and social and economic justice.

Johann Moore, Green Party AG candidate, Supports Same Sex Marriages and Legalization of Medical Marijuana

Pledges to Strengthen Environmental Enforcement

August 19, 1998

Johann Moore, the gay rights and medical marijuana activist who is the Green Party candidate for Attorney General of New York State, announced today that he advocated legislation to legalize same sex marriages and the right of access to medicinal substances such as marijuana and various FDA unapproved medication presently approved in countries such as Europe and Japan.

Moore, a long-time environmental activist from Brooklyn, criticized incumbent Dennis Vacco for his ethical abuses and his weakening of the Attorney General's staff through the heavy use of political patronage. The Green Party earlier this year filed charges with the State Board of Elections, accusing Vacco of using state resources to support his fundraising efforts.

"We shouldn't have a shakedown artist as Attorney General. As Attorney General, bringing white collar criminals to justice will be one of my top priorities. I intend to be aggressive in reviewing corporate charters to ensure that the public interest is served and to revoke charters of companies that pollute, discriminate or otherwise violate the law. I will restore the bureaus of environmental enforcement and consumer protection to their rightful roles as national leaders. Vacco has turned the AG's office in a patronage mill whose performance is criticized by judges and legal advocates" stated Moore.

Moore criticized Vacco for agreeing last December to give $29 million of state dollars to the owners of the defeated Interpower Coal Plan to settle a lawsuit over the alleged incompetence of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and for the decision announced yesterday to use $16 million of state dollars, including Environmental Bond Act funds, to pay local governments and out-of-state companies to correct a mistake by the Pataki administration to allow out-of-state garbage to be imported into and land filled in the Adirondack Park. "Deals like these highlight why taxpayers need the Attorney General and State Comptroller to belong to different political parties than that of the Governor," Moore stated.

Moore also said that he would aggressively enforce the state's 1988 Solid Waste Management Act to increase local government efforts to promote recycling, composting and waste reduction, something he charged that both the Cuomo and Pataki administration had been lax in doing.

In announcing his support for legislation to legalize same sex marriages, Moore stated that "I am a strong advocate for equal civil, human and social rights for all New Yorkers, include gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender individuals. I support everyone's right to marry the person you love and wish to make a permanent, legally binding commitment to. I also support giving communities back their power to control their police force. Cops work for the community. The best way to return control is to require police officers to be elected by the community they serve in and live in. Just as Dennis Vacco has down, I will use my office as a bully pulpit to make our criminal justice system responsive to the needs of our communities, and to eliminate the racism and other forms of discrimination that corrupt and harm our justice system," added Moore.

"The Attorney General's office is about the distribution of power. The Green Party is about redistributing power from those that have too much to those who have too little," added Moore.

Moore is a co-founder of ACT-Up North Carolina, NY Medical Marijuana Buyers Club and, co-founder Cures not War, a drug policy reform organization. Moore  is involved in a long-term gay relationship.

Grandpa Al Lewis Accepts  Governor Nomination
Announces Campaign to Save NY's Kids

August 18, 1998

see Save NY's Kids web page.

Al Lewis - the political activist, former union organizer, and actor - today formally accepted the Green Party nomination for Governor at a press conference held in front of City Hall in Manhattan.

Lewis was joined at the press conference by the Joel Kovel, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate; Johann Moore, the Green's Attorney General candidate; Craig Seeman, a Green candidate for State Assembly from Brooklyn; and Julia Willebrand, a Green running for the State Senate seat vacated by Franz Leichter. The Green Party filed more than 33,000 signatures with the State Board of Elections last week to qualify Lewis, Kovel and Moore for the ballot, along with Alice Green for Lieutenant Governor and Howie Hawkins for Comptroller.

"Grandpa" Lewis used his formal announcement to launch the Green Party's Save our Children campaign, which includes support for universal health care and child care, an end to childhood poverty, an increase in welfare benefits, increased anti-hunger programs, enactment of a childrens' allowance, community non-violence programs, and an overhaul of juvenile justice programs. Mr. Lewis also called for comprehensive school finance reform.

"New York is facing many critical problems, from the legalized bribery of politicians that we call campaign contributions to the insanity and inhumanity of our criminal justice system, including the death penalty and the Rockefeller Drug Laws. But this old Grandpa knows that children must be our first priority, and I pledge today to fight to Save our Children, not just during this election but after November as well. I call upon all the other candidates for Governor and state office to join me in this pledge. It is a disgrace that in the richest state in the richest country in the world, more than one out of four children lives in poverty. It is our repsonsibility as human beings to provide a decent life for all children, regardless of the color of the skin or the size of their parents' bank account," stated Mr. Lewis.

Joel Kovel, candidate for US Senator, expressed his support for the campaign. "Every party gives lip service to taking care of children," Kovel, a former psychiatrist, commented. "But the parties in power stand condemned as hypocrites by the dreadful condition of children in this, the wealthiest country on earth. Only a party committed to living beings and not to profiteering can offer the hope for rebuilding communities and the human bonds necessary to give our children the care and safety necessary for flourishing development. That's why the Green Party's campaign to save the children is the only authentic one in the political arena today."

Mr. Lewis noted that children are disproportionately impacted by pollution because their bodies are still growing and they spend more time out doors. "We have to stop giving permits to companies like General Electric and Kodak to pollute our air and water. We require children to attend schools eight hours a day; we need to make sure that these schools are not health hazards. We have to stop using pesticides, which are particularly harmful to children. We have to immediately stop schools in New York from burning coal for heat. The bureaucrats have got to stop shuffling paper and clean up lead from many low-income communities, particularly in minority neighborhoods," added Mr. Lewis. Lewis added that "we don't inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children,"

Mr. Lewis called for an immediate overhaul of the way that public schools are financed, and for an investment of at least $15 billion in repairing schools. "George Pataki, Joe Bruno and Sheldon Silver play games with school funding while our schools are falling down on our children's head. Education is our best investment for the future. The quality of a child's education should not depend on the wealth of their local community," stated Mr. Lewis.

The Greens are committed to the principles of ecology, grassroots democracy, nonviolence and social and economic justice. The Greens need 50,000 votes for Governor in order to qualify as an official party. Ralph Nader, the Green Party candidate for President in New York in 1996, pulled 75,000 votes.

Green Party Files 33,000 Signatures for Statewide Candidates - Greens Meet Signature Requirement in All 31 Congressional Districts

August 11, 1998

The Green Party today easily qualified for this fall's election by submitting more than 33,000 signatures to nominate Grandpa Al Lewis for Governor; Alice Green for Lieutenant Governor; Joel Kovel for U.S. Senate; Howie Hawkins for State Comptroller; and, Johann Moore for Attorney General.

Green Party candidates Joel Kovel and Howie Hawkins candidate led a delegation of Greens in delivering the signatures to the New York State Board of Elections at the first possible moment that petitions could be filed. The difficulties of complying with New York's election law usually forces most parties and candidates to wait until the last moment to file their nominating petitions. Petitioning for independent candidates ends on August 18th.

"The response to the Green's petition drive was very supportive. Even though we filed a week earlier than we did for Ralph Nader for President two years ago, we collected nearly 6,000 more signatures than we did for Nader. New Yorkers who work for a living are fed up with the patronage-driven politics of Pataki, Vacco and D'Amato where campaign contributors buy the election and then are rewarded with special contracts and legislation," stated Hawkins.

Hawkins called upon the Democratic and Republican candidates to agree to a series of debates, and for the media to provide equal coverage to the Green statewide candidates. "The Greens have met the legal requirements to be candidates. In fact, the Green candidates have collected far more signatures than most if not all of their counterparts in the two major parties. Democracy only functions when there is a public debate of the issues that concern voters. We look forward to participating as equals with the other candidates in this fall's elections," stated Hawkins.

The Greens are calling for an overhaul of the state campaign finance laws, including public campaign financing; strong environmental protection; job creation and other economic justice reforms; and, criminal justice reform.

To qualify for the ballot, the Greens were required to collect 15,000 signatures statewide, with at least 100 signatures from half of the state's 31 Congressional Districts. The Greens exceeded this threshold in every Congressional District.

"Grandpa Al Lewis and the rest of our candidates are striking a responsive chord with voters from Buffalo to Long Island, from New York City to the North Country. I want to thank the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who signed petitions to get the Greens on the ballots, and the hundreds of volunteers who gave of their time to make this possible," stated Frank Carr, who coordinated the statewide ballot access drive. "New York's election law are the most complex in the nature, designed to block challengers. It is very gratifying to see how many Greens took the time to learn all of the intricacies of our state's election law," added Carr.

Mark Dunlea, the Green Party statewide campaign manager, called for reform of New York's notorious ballot access laws. "Election laws should empower voters, not disenfranchise them. One small but critical change would be to allow voter's to merely state their legal mailing address, rather than also identifying the Town or City they live in. With Town governments, the U.S. Postal Service and School Boards all using different town names, many voters are very confused as to what town to list on their nominating petition. Signing a nominating petition shouldn't be a game of ‘Trivia Pursuit' where the slightest technicality disqualifies the voter," stated Dunlea.

If the Greens receive 50,000 votes for their ticket of "Grandpa" Al Lewis for Governor and Alice Green for Lieutenant Governor, they would become an official political party in New York State, allowing voters to register as Greens and making ballot access much easier for Green candidates. The Greens received 75,000 votes for Ralph Nader for President in New York State in 1996.

Board of Elections Contends that Grandpa Can't Be Used on Ballot
Green Party Vows to Continue Fight for Grandpa Al Lewis

August 3

The Green Party of New York State said it would submit petitions naming Grandpa Al Lewis as its candidate for Governor, despite receiving a recent letter from the New York State Board of Election rejecting the use of "Grandpa" on this fall's ballot.

"The Green Party is prepared to ensure that voters know who they are voting for on Election Day. The Board of Election acknowledges that a candidate may use familiar names by which the candidate is recognized in the community. For some unknown reason, the attorney for the Board of Elections has decided to treat the word "Grandpa" as an honorary biological reference to parentage rather than a name that has become associated worldwide with Al Lewis due to his television career. The Board of Elections hasn't driven a stake through the heart of this Grandpa yet," stated Mark Dunlea