Hawkins was polling 9 % statewide even before a widely - praised debate performance, and has earned endorsements from a spectrum of people and organizations, including Ralph Nader, Seattle socialist city council member Kshama Sawant, education analyst Diane Ravitch, and former Mobil Oil VP - turned - renewable energy
activist Lou Allstadt; as well as Albany weekly paper Metroland, 6
teachers» unions, 6 Democratic Party clubs, Socialist Alternative, and a number of groups leading the fight against school privatization, such as United Opt Out and the New York
Badass Teacher Association.