Economic justice, education equality, clean energy and universal healthcare.

Those are four key issues the Green Party's Howie Hawkins plans to advocate for during his campaign for governor.

"They're voting for us because they're voting for the issues we stand for, not with the expectations that I'll be the next governor."

It's a reality that Hawkins is familiar with. And this time around, he says he has no fears.

"The fact that I'm running for a third time, it means I start with the basic support to build out upon. I think very few people are going to say 'Oh, he already ran, he didn't win, I'm not going to vote for him."

Hawkins previously ran in 2010 and 2014, knocking down barriers for his party.

He won enough votes in his last campaign to put the Green Party on the election ballot statewide.

And he says the voice of his party is an essential one.

While much of his approach to the race remains the same, he does have a slightly different plan this time around.

Hawkins says if he is elected as governor of New York, he knows exactly where he'll start.

"The first thing a governor does is a budget,” he said. “And I would put progressive tax reforms in that budget so we could fully fund the schools."

Hawkins said he plans to announce his campaign for governor within the next few weeks.