The Times Union is reporting Syracuse resident Howie Hawkins will seek the Green Party nomination for president in 2020. Hawkins was expected to make the formal announcement May 28 in Brooklyn. Hawkins ran three times for governor of New York, in 2010, 2014 and 2018, on the Green Party line, every time clearing the 50,000-vote limit required to maintain the party's ballot status. He launched his exploratory committee for the presidency in April. Hawkins has also been a candidate for Congress, the U.S. Senate and local office in Syracuse. A retired Teamster, Hawkins' campaign for president will center on an "ecosocialist Green New Deal" to convert the country to clean renewable energy with zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 — a "World War II-scale mobilization," he said in a statement. "The climate crisis is an existential threat to humanity. Real solutions can't wait," Hawkins said. While a number of Democratic candidates have addressed the concept of a "Green New Deal," the particulars of their plans vary. Referring to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's efforts to push for such a plan, Hawkins said "they took the brand but watered down the content. Then the Democratic leadership shot it down anyway." Read the full story in the Times Union.