Drew Wilson
A group connected to activist Tom Steyer has opened a state-level political committee, signaling that the San Francisco billionaire has more plans for the Sunshine State in 2018.
NextGen Climate Action Committee was added to the Florida Division of Elections political committee database on Tuesday. The national version of the climate change-focused group is one of many operating under Steyer’s “NextGen America” banner.
The committee listing for the Florida spinoff names Chris Fadeff as chairman. Fadeff serves as the chief financial officer and vice president of legal for NextGen America. He has worked for the advocacy group since 2013, the year it was founded.
The committee’s treasurer is Rita Copeland, who holds the same position at the national NextGen Climate Action Committee according to Federal Elections Commission records.
Both Fadeff and Copeland list their address as a Washington DC office belonging to international law firm Perkins Coie, which represents a number of corporate and political clients, including serving as counsel to Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign.
Carly Cass, who serves as youth organizing director of NextGen Florida, is listed as the new committee’s registered agent. The Tampa-based operative is the committee’s only listed officer with a Florida address.
Florida Politics reached out to the contact number listed by the committee but did not receive a response.
Back in February, Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, NextGen alongside two other anti-gun violence activist groups announced they’d spend $1 million to register eligible high schoolers to vote.
In March, Steyer said NextGen America would to spend as much as $3.5 million in the 2018 cycle to register, engage and turn out young voters across the state of Florida. The group also announced it aimed to defend Florida’s 7th Congressional District, held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, and flip Florida’s 18th Congressional District, held by Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Mast.
Last month, NextGen America announced it was backing Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum in the Democratic primary for Governor and that it would put $1 million behind his bid — $500,000 via a grant from Steyer to Gillum’s political committee, Forward Florida, with the other half coming from elsewhere.
That adds up to $5.5 million in commitments this cycle, and with the new political committee there could be more announcements on the way.
