The Original Green New Dealers
Howie Hawkins and Gloria Mattera were the first candidates in the US to campaign for a Green New Deal while running for Governor and Lt. Governor of New York in 2010.
Coming out of the Great Recession, it was as much a program for economic recovery as climate recovery. The slogan was soon picked up by Green candidates across the country who issued a joint statement calling for a federal Green New Deal. The Green New Deal became the signature program of the Green Party in the 2010s. The slogan of Green presidential candidate, Jill Stein, in 2012 and 2016 was “A Green New Deal for America.”
The central theme of the Green New Deal—large-scale public investment in clean energy for jobs and economic justice as well as environmental protection—is something Howie had worked on since he was involved in organizing the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance in the 1970s and built alliances with Richard Grossman’s Environmentalists for Full Employment and Tony Mazzocchi of the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers for a Just Transition program to enable workers to maintain wages and benefits while they transitioned from closing toxic industries and into the new clean industries. These policies were central themes in Howie’s campaigns for US Representative in 2000, 2004, and 2008 and US Senator in 2006. Gloria worked for these same policies as an activist in the Labor Party that Mazzocchi had spearheaded in the 1990s and in the Green Party since 2001.
Howie had tried to get a Global Green New Deal plank in the Greens/Green Party USA platform in 2000, but for those convention delegates “New Deal” was too associated with the Democratic Party, so the plank referred to a Global Green Deal. It called for redirecting most of the military budget into basic human needs and ecological conversion to sustainable systems of production globally.
By 2010, Caroline Lucas, the Green Party Member of Parliament in the UK, had been campaigning since 2008 for a Green New Deal in response to the twin crises of the climate and economy. The European Greens made the Green New Deal the slogan of their 2009 campaign for the Europarliament. We still got some initial resistance to the slogan from New York Greens when we first proposed it as the theme for our 2010 gubernatorial campaign because New Deal was too associated with the Democratic Party. But soon Greens were persuaded by the fact that European Greens were using the slogan now and by our argument that it would appeal to progressive Democratic voters who were angry that their old New Deal Democrats had been replaced by corporate New Democrats.
Below are links to leaflets, media releases, articles, and videos about our campaign for the Green New Deal in 2010:
Video, Howie Hawkins statements in New York gubernatorial debate, Hofstra University, 10.18.10
“Peace, Justice, and a Green New Deal,” Green Slate Leaflet, July 2010
“Green Candidates Call for ‘Green New Deal’ to Change the Course of our Nation,” Green Party US Media Release, 8.10.10
“Greens Qualify Five Candidates for Statewide Office in Support of a Green New Deal, Release, 8.17.10
“A Green New Deal for New York, Op-Ed, Op-Ed News, 9.2.10
“Tax the Rich for a Green New Deal,” Labor Day Leaflet, 9.6.10
“Jobs, Climate Protection, and a Green New Deal for New York State,” Position Paper, 10.10.10
“New York State Demands To Know “Where Are The F#$%-ing Jobs?” Social Media Ad and Release, 10.15.10
“This is Howie do it,” Article, Buffalo Beast, 10.17.10
“Five Candidates, Colorful to Crusading,” Article, New York Times, 10.18.10
“Third Gubernatorial Option for NY: A Green New Deal?” Article, New Deal 2.0, 10.18.10
“Who Is Howie Hawkins and Why Is He Debating Paladino and Cuomo Tonight?” Article, The L Magazine, 10.18.10
“Hawkins, Nader Press Conference in Albany, Wed. Oct. 20,” Release, 10.19.10
“Green New Deal,” 30-second TV ad, 10.24.10
“Hawkins Says NY Must Create a Carbon Free Economy Within a Decade, Cuomo’s Energy Plan Is Weak and Misguided,” Release, 10.26.10
“Howie Hawkins’ Green New Deal,” Article, Art Voice, 10.29.10
“Hawkins Supports Strengthening Public Transportation in Greene County, Upstate NY,” Release, 10.29.10
“Hawkins for Governor to Hold News Conference and Campaign Rally,” Release, 10.30.10
“Hawkins vs. Cuomo on Hydrofracking,”Release, 10.31.10
“Howie Hawkins the Choice in Governor’s Race,” Article, The Examiner, 10.31.10
“Hawkins Says Green Campaign Continues,” Release, 11.5.10
“Hawkins Vows To Keep On Working,” Article, Gannet Newspapers, 11.5.10
“Gubernatorial Candidate Howie Hawkins Calls for a ‘Green New Deal for New York’,” Video/Transcript, Democracy Now!, 10.31.14
Showing 2 reactions