Outgoing Green Party Chairperson Joshua Lieberson announced his candidacy for State Assembly in the 104th District (McEneny, D-Albany) today at the Capitol Steps.
Mr. Lieberson sited the need for mandatory living wage legislation that would bring the minimum wage to $10/hour, repealing of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, refinancing Superfund immediately, labeling of Genetically Modified foods, and free higher education.
Also, Mr. Lieberson promised to seek only the nomination of the Green Party in support of the statewide ticket that includes gubernatorial candidate Stanley Aronowitz.
Living wage legislation is a cornerstone of the Lieberson Campaign for State Assembly. Mr. Lieberson stated "people who are employed in New York State should be able to afford the necessities of life. We need a mandated living wage so that New Yorkers are guaranteed a standard of living adequate to their needs".
Mr. Lieberson also called for the need to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws. He argued that these laws are "unfair, unjust, and racially biased in implementation". He also called for treating marijuana use as equivalent to alcohol use. Also, he voiced his opposition to mandatory drug screening for employment. "When employers test their prospective employees for drugs, they are violating a right to privacy".
Mr. Lieberson challenged the Assembly, Senate, and Pataki to refinance and empower the Superfund program immediately. "Not only do we need to refinance the Superfund program immediately, but we also need to provide mechanisms for it to go after corporate polluters and make them pay for 100% of the mess they create".
In reaction to John McEneny's pull of his Genetically Modified Foods bill, Mr. Lieberson called for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products, as well as a five-year moratorium on growing GMOs in New York State. Mr. Lieberson stated "Jack McEneny pulling the GMO bill shows the need for a progressive third party candidate to represent the health and environmental interests of New Yorkers against the politics-as-usual Democrats and Republicans in the State Assembly".
Mr. Lieberson also called for free higher education for residents of New York State. "Instead of talking about tuition hikes in the SUNY system, they should be talking about how to eliminate tuition altogether".
Mr. Lieberson also stated that he planned to seek only the Green Party nomination for November, citing his support for the statewide ticket, in which Stanley Aronowitz was recently designated the Green Party candidate at their convention. The Green Party also designated Jennifer Daniels from Syracuse for Lieutenant Governor, Howie Hawkins for State Comptroller, and Mary Jo Long for Attorney General.
