For the 14th time, Howie Hawkins’ bid for public office bit the dust Tuesday.
Hawkins, the Green Populist for Congress in New York’s 25th District, received about three percent of the vote, or 8,769 ballots, according to an unofficial tally from NBC-3. Democrat Dan Maffei was declared the winner at 10:50 p.m., leading with 54 percent of the vote. Republican Dale Sweetland held 43 percent.
But despite the numbers, Hawkins remained defiantly optimistic about his place in local politics.
“There’s perception that since I can’t win, I’m a wasted vote,” Hawkins said Tuesday night as he and supporters gathered for a small party at the Green Party office on South Salina Street in Syracuse. Said Hawkins, “My argument is, if you don’t vote for what you want, you wasted your vote.”
In 2006, Maffei nearly defeated two-decade Republican incumbent Jim Walsh. With Walsh retiring, Maffei was the favorite for most of the 2008 race. The 25th Congressional District contains all of Onondaga and Wayne counties, and parts of Cayuga and Monroe counties.
For Hawkins, this election was another chance to push the Green Party agenda. Hawkins got the night off from his graveyard-shift job at UPS for the election night gathering at the Greens office. About a dozen supporters came by to eat falafel and wraps, and give each other moral support.
Hawkins wore a blue t-shirt supporting Ralph Nader’s independent 2008 presidential campaign. The conversation flowed from French novelist Victor Hugo to conservative radio host Alex Jones to the San Francisco Giants.
They reminisced about the campaign. During one debate, a moderator asked the three candidates what their favorite T.V. show was. Hawkins said news program “Democracy Now,” Sweetland said sporting events and Maffei said 1970s detective show “The Rockford Files.”
Hawkins had never heard of Maffei’s favorite.
“How can you not know ‘The Rockford Files?’” said John Yorks, Hawkins’ campaign treasurer. Yorks laughed. “That automatically disqualifies you.”
Hawkins’ excuse: “I never watched TV as a kid,” he said.
On the small TV screen in the corner, good news blared for the Democrats: Dan Maffei was in the lead, as was Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for president.
“Well, the Democrats have no excuse now,” Hawkins said. “There’s no Republicans to stop them.”
For the 25th Congressional race, Hawkins had little money or organizational support for the campaign. As of Oct. 24, he had raised around $5,400. Meanwhile, Maffei raised more than $2 million and Sweetland raised more than $365,000, according to campaign finance reports.
Hawkins first ran for office in 1993. He ran for mayor of Syracuse in 2005, U.S. Senate in 2006 and Syracuse councilor-at-large in 2007. Like this year, he lost.
But Tuesday night, Hawkins was already looking ahead to 2009 and Campaign Number 15. The mayor’s office will be open again. So will two open councilor-at-large seats.
“If we can break through in local election, we’re not the people that can’t win,” Hawkins said. “We’re a bit of an alternative.”
(Andy McCullough is a senior newspaper journalism major.)
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