Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn
October 13, 2010

David Pechefsky, who ran for City Council in the 39th district as a Green last year, is supporting Green Party candidates Howie Hawkins for New York governor and Park Sloper Gloria Mattera for Lt. governor and he thinks you should, too

Many in Brooklyn’s 39th district (which includes Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, and Boro Park) got to know Pechefsky during the race and were impressed with his energetic and creative campaigning, his intelligence, his knowledge of local politics, his experience as a staff member in the New York City Council and his consulting work in Africa.

We spoke last week at Connecticut Muffin and he urged me to tell OTBKB readers about Hawkins and Mattera because if they get 50,000 votes it’ll make things easier in the future for the Green Party to get on the ballot in New York State, where they make third party candidates jump through hoops just to get on the ballot.

A vote for Hawkins and Mattera is a vote for a more inclusive multi-party system like in other countries. Or so says Pechefsky: “50,000 votes for governor gets you ballot status, ballot status means it is much easier to get people on the ballot in City Council and State legislature races.” In other words: a vote for a Green candidate is a vote for Greens and that could create a regular spot for the Greens on New York ballots.

Hawkins, who lives upstate, is a Teamster, who works for UPS for a living. He’s been an organizer in movements for peace, justice, labor, the environment, and independent politics since the late 1960s.

Gloria Mattera, who lives in Park Slope, has been active in the Green Party in New York State since 2001 and has run as a Green candidate for City Council in District 39 in Brooklyn in 2001 and 2003 and in 2009 she ran against Marty Markowitz for Brooklyn borough president.

In all likelihood, this is Andy Cuomo’s year and he will win by a landslide. Nonetheless, progressive Brooklynites are afraid to vote for Hawkins and Mattera because they think it’ll be a vote for Paladino, who’s hateful homophobic remarks to a group of Brooklyn rabbis last week created a firestorm.

In the aftermath of the hideous anti-Gay hate crime (and brutal assault) in the Bronx, he told the group that he didn’t think children should be “brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option — it isn’t.”

Nice.

In an announcement released today, Howie Hawkins said that he “supports full rights for all members of our society, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. Greens like Mayor Jason West of New Paltz have provided critical leadership to issues such as the right to same-sex marriage. I will do the same as Governor.”

Hawkins hopes that “statements in recent days across the political spectrum condemning the homophobic remarks of Paladino will translate into concrete political action to enact stronger legislation and programs supporting the GLBT community.”

We can only hope.