The Green Party was officially certified Monday December 14 by the NYS Board of Elections as the newest ballot qualified party, with the Hawkins-Mattera Gubernatorial ticket receiving 59,928 votes. 50,000 votes for Governor is needed to qualify a party. The Greens received 49,201 votes outside of NYC.

The Green Party state committee, meeting in Rensselaer on Saturday Dec. 11, elected Howie Hawkins of Syracuse and Peter LaVenia of Albany as co-chairs. Elizabeth Shanklin of the Bronx was elected Secretary. Eric Jones of Buffalo was elected Treasurer.

The Green Party plans to run candidates on its own line rather than cross-endorsing candidates from other parties like the other so-called third parties in NYS primarily do. The Greens were the only third party candidate to qualify for ballot status by running their own candidates.

Key issues for the Green Party in 2011 will including seeking a permanent ban on hydrofracking for natural gas; supporting community rather than mayoral control of public schools; progressive tax reform to resolve the state budget deficit; and public campaign finance reform. The Greens will also campaign for their Green New Deal program, including public jobs for full employment, single-payer health care, fully funded public schools and colleges, and renewable energy.