James Lane at All New York News reports:

The Green Party of New York State kicked off its 2010 statewide campaign by evoking the legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt by calling for a “Big Green New Deal” that emphasizes human rights, living wage jobs for all, single payer health care, immigration reform, peace, and the right to education.

US Senate candidates Colia Clark and Dr. Cecile Lawrence joined with state comptroller candidate Dr. Julia Willebrand and Lt. Governor candidate Gloria Mattera to officially announce their campaigns in front of the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument in Manhattan. They were accompanied by Green Party gubernatorial nominee Howie Hawkins, who officially launched his campaign in early May.

The candidates talked about the need to speak for the average New Yorker, just as Eleanor Roosevelt did on behalf of her disabled husband by traveling across the country to meet with everyday Americans during the Great Depression.

Colia Clark, a veteran of the civil rights movement, is running for the Senate seat presently held by Chuck Schumer. Ms. Clark talked about the need to make quality education a right for all New Yorkers, regardless of their race or economic status.

Dr. Cecile Lawrence, who is running for the US Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, has been active in the fight for universal health care and opposes the method of drilling for natural gas called High Volume Horizontal Hydrofracturing that threatens the health and welfare, as well as the water, of all of the residents of New York State.

Julia Willebrand, who receive more than 110,000 votes for State Comptroller in 2006 is running for that position again. Willebrand, a former professor, spoke out against the drive by both parties to expand charter schools, which has proven to be a financial boondoggle at taxpayer expense for Wall Street financiers and hedge funds.

Gloria Mattera, a peace and health care activist from Park Slope Brooklyn, criticized the Democrats for once again refusing to make health care a human right, instead passing a health care insurance mandate to penalize any American who fails to buy expensive and inadequate health insurance.

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party nominee for Governor, is a member of the Teamsters Union in Syracuse. Mr. Hawkins stated that at least one million jobs are needed to have full employment in New York State, and jobs in child care, elder care, parks & recreation programs, etc. can put people to work immediately with little training. Additionally, New York should invest in improving our housing and infrastructure, including energy efficiency retrofits, mass transit, inter-urban rails, and water and sewer lines. This would also include a rapid conversion to a sustainable green economy to avert irreversible climate catastrophe, ocean acidification, and other environmental damages that are leading toward ecological collapse.

The Green Party of New York State is committed to ecology, grassroots democracy, social and economic justice and nonviolence. It needs at least 50,000 votes for Governor to help restore its rights as an official political party in NY.

Video Clip 1: Gloria Mattera, New York State Green Party candidate for Lt. Governor

Video Clip 3: Howie Hawkins, New York State Green Party candidate for Governor

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More Information

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http://www.gpnys.org