Howie Hawkins knows how it feels to live in poverty.
“There have been times when I was unemployed and couldn’t pay my bills,” Hawkins said. “And this city’s not going to go anywhere unless it deals with those who are left behind.”
Hawkins is the Green Party candidate running for one of two seats as Syracuse Common Councilor At-Large. In the election Nov. 6, he is running against Republican Bill Harper, Conservative Bob Teachout and Democratic incumbents Kathleen Joy and Bill Ryan.
Fighting poverty is a central aspect of his political platform, Hawkins said. To help the poor, he calls for creating more jobs for minorities, a publicly supported “hiring hall,” and expanding what’s called the “living wage.” And even if he loses Tuesday’s election, Hawkins said, he’ll keep pushing the Common Council to confront the city’s poverty.
Consider these statistics, from the U.S. Census, on Syracuse’s poverty:
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Of America’s 100 largest cities, Syracuse had the third highest poverty rate in 2005, the most recent figures available.
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That’s 31.3 percent of Syracuse’s population, or 37,860 people, living in poverty.
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Of those 100 cities, Syracuse also had the highest poverty rate among African Americans — with 42.5 percent living below the federal poverty line of $19,350 for a family of four.
To change those grim statistics, Hawkins proposes:
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Raising minority employment on city projects.
The city of Syracuse and its contractors are required by law to have around 10 percent of workers be minorities. Since poverty is concentrated among the minority population in Syracuse, more minority contractors need to be hired for city jobs, Hawkins said. He would raise the affirmative action goal to 40 percent by passing new legislation.
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Creating a community hiring hall
A community hiring hall would help minorities secure these city jobs, Hawkins said. Hiring halls, which provide training and job placements, have been established across the country already. Many are funded by grants from foundations. Minority, business, community and labor representatives would govern the board, Hawkins said.
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Expanding the living wage
The Syracuse Common Council passed an ordinance in 2005 that created a living wage for city contractors to pay employees. The living wage is $10.08 anhour for employees receiving healthcare benefits and $11.91 for those without benefits. As it stands now, this wage only applies to certain workers and needs to be expanded to cover all city employees, Hawkins said.
“These are all things we can do immediately to address poverty,” Hawkins said. He added: “Poverty affects the future of this city, particularly for the children who grow up in it.”
(Katie Walsh is a senior newspaper major.)
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