When it comes to political fundraising, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins has a simple strategy:
“I just go around talking to people,” said Hawkins, who is running for Syracuse Common Councilor-at-Large.
So far, Hawkins has raised $2,730.68, according to a New York State Board of Elections Financial Disclosure Report filed Oct. 5. In the election on Nov. 6, Hawkins is running against Republican Bill Harper, Conservative Bob Teachout and Democrats Kathleen Joy and Bill Ryan.
Since 1991, Hawkins has run 13 times for offices ranging from mayor to U.S. Senator. He’s never yet won. But he has helped establish a support base with local Green Party members. Most of his donors are longtime contributors who know Hawkins personally and strongly support his political platform.
And in this campaign for Common Councilor-at-Large, Hawkins has raised more money than ever before. His earlier highest fundraising was $2,499 in the 2001 Syracuse Common Council race.
Hawkins attributes this election’s comparative success — $231.68 more than that 2001 campaign — to his longevity and familiarity in Syracuse politics. “I’ve been at this so long, a lot of people come in to contribute without me asking,” Hawkins said. “People who contributed in the past are really stepping up again this year.”
Here are some highlights in Hawkins’ fundraising:
- Six individuals, plus Hawkins, have contributed to his campaign so far.
- Those six account for 41.2 percent — $1,125 — of his contributions.
- Hawkins himself has donated $150, or 5.5 percent of his contributions.
- His biggest contributor is Web-site designer David Doonan, who’s given $1,025 of in-kind services for maintaining Hawkins’ campaign Web site (howiehawkins.com). That accounts for 37.5 percent of his campaign’s finances.
One of Hawkins’ contributors is Mark Naef, fellow Green Party member who’s also run and lost two races for Onondaga County Legislature and one for the state senate. He’s given $300 to Hawkins’ campaign this year.
His reason: “Howie could bring in a lot of new ideas to the Common Council,” Naef said. “He is truly the champion of all people.”
Another contributor is Ann Tiffany, a Syracuse resident who also admires Hawkins’ ideas. She’s especially enthusiastic, she said, about his plans for a city-owned public power company. To help him get on the Common Council this time, she’s chipped in $75 so far to his campaign.
“I am totally committed to what Howie wants to do for the Syracuse community,” Tiffany said. “It just makes sense to support him financially.”
Adds Tiffany: “This time he really has a chance to win.”
(Katie Walsh is a senior newspaper major.)
-30-
