Florida residents who have been burned by green-energy schemes have good reason to be concerned about certain campaign contributions now in circulation from outside of state.
That’s because a good portion of that money is attached to left-leaning, billionaire hedge fund managers who advance environmental initiatives that often result in higher energy costs.
Florida’s gubernatorial election is now in full swing with both major parties involved in competitive primary elections scheduled for August 28. Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican incumbent, is term-limited, and the general election is widely viewed as being wide open. The same is largely true in the primaries. But if money is any indication, Andrew Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, could break out on the Democratic side.
Florida campaign finance records show that Gillum has attracted support of what could be called the three big S’s: Steyer, Soros, and Simons.
Florida residents who have firsthand experience with the controversy surrounding Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, otherwise known as PACE loans, might want to ask Gillum what kind of return his benefactors expect on their investment.
[Also read: George Soros calls Obama his ‘greatest disappointment’]
There’s been some excellent reporting on PACE loans by Ron Hurtibise of the Florida Sun-Sentinel that’s worth reviewing. On the surface, the program sounds perfectly benign. The idea is for homeowners who cannot afford the upfront costs of home improvements to receive loans from green energy companies to cover the installation of solar energy systems and other components designed to alleviate the effects of climate change.
In reality, the evidence shows that the terms and conditions of a PACE loan can put your home at risk of being seized by the government. As Hurtibise reports, with PACE loans there’s a lien placed on your home and you must “repay roughly double the project cost over the life of the loan.” Green energy might be politically correct, but it doesn’t come cheap! Moreover, the banks typically stipulate that the loans must be paid in full before a home can be sold.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that both the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission have probed into the business practices of Renovate America, which it identifies as “the largest provider of energy-saving home improvement loans.” There are legitimate concerns that the PACE program is driven by predatory lending practices that victimize unsuspecting homeowners. PACE loans can supersede a mortgage’s first position of repayment, which is something congressional members of both parties are working to change. PACE loans have also been the subject of multiple lawsuits in California, where some of the loan companies are based, and in Florida, where several companies operate. The major green energy lenders in Florida are Renovate America, Ygrene (that’s energy spelled backwards), Florida PACE, and Renew Financial, which is also known as RenewPACE.
So, where does the Gillum campaign for governor fit in here?
Renew Financial has received financial support from Prelude Ventures, a venture capital firm co-founded by a fellow named Nat Simons and his wife Laura-Baxter Simons. The fact that Prelude Ventures has a board seat with Renew Financial suggests that the level of financial support is significant.
The husband-wife team also co-founded the San Francisco-based Sea Change Foundation, which congressional investigators have identified as a major conduit of Russian funding for U.S. environmental groups. I previously reported for the Washington Examiner on the role of Sea Change in Russian financial support for propaganda campaigns directed against American natural gas development.
Nat Simons is also vice chairman and director of Renaissance Technologies, the hedge fund founded by his father Jim Simons. Renaissance-affiliated firms and other Simons family entities have been domiciled in Bermuda with the assistance of several law firms.
Florida campaign finance records show that Elizabeth Simons, the sister of Nat Simons, donated $3,000, which is the maximum allowed, to Gillum in December 2017. On the same day, she gave $6,000 to Forward Florida, which is Gillum’s PAC. Elizabeth Simons then followed up in Feb. 2018 with a $15,000 donation to Forward Florida. So that’s a total of $24,000 from Nat’s sister to the Tallahassee mayor, but the Simons connection doesn’t end there. Elizabeth’s husband, Mark Heising, donated $3,000 to Gillum in November 2017. Heising sits on the board of the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in New York. Heising and Nat Simons have also jointly committed millions of dollars to curbing carbon usage by utilities, a goal Gillum would be in position to advance as governor.
Gillum’s appeal to well-funded green activists is not limited to the Simons family. Politico has reported that Tom Steyer, the California billionaire hedge fund manager, and high-profile environmental activist, has donated “$1 million in organizational and advertising support” to Gillum’s campaign. From that amount, $500,000 has gone toward Forward Florida and other half has gone to digital ads and field support.
George Soros, the Hungarian-American, billionaire hedge fund manager and financier of progressive political causes, has also entered the fray on behalf of Gillum. Soros has personally contributed $700,000 to Forward Florida since last year, and his son Alex Soros has contributed another $50,000 to the PAC. The Washington Times has reported that Soros gave $36 million to the groups that participated in the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C., earlier this year.
What do the three big S’s expect in return from Gillum should he become governor? The common denominator between the three is environmental activism, and for whatever reason, they have all settled on Gillum’s candidacy as the best vehicle to achieve their policy goals.
Florida energy consumers, pay attention.
Kevin Mooney (@KevinMooneyDC) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an investigative reporter in Washington, D.C., who writes for several national publications.
