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Presidential Candidate Tom Steyer Speaks At AREDAY Summit

TomSteyer.com

Presidential candidate Tom Steyer is speaking in Aspen Friday night as a part of the AREDAY Summit, presented by American Renewable Energy Institute. One of the main topics: his climate action plan.

Steyer said his plan is different from any other candidate’s because his includes three things: declaring a state of emergency his first day of presidency, being closely tied to community and grassroot environmentalism and building a global coalition to combat climate change. 

“Unless you’re doing those three things, my experience over the last 10 years on working through grassroot work politics is your plan won’t work and it won’t happen,” Steyer said. “So given the urgency of the problem,I would be very happy if [the other candidates] would just agree and come along and make the same pledges I made.”

The California billionaire announced his run for presidency back in July, but already faced backlash from fellow Democratic presidential candidates Sen.Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

Though Warren did not mention Steyer by name, hours after he officially announced she tweeted, “The Democratic primary should not be decided by billionaires, whether they’re funding Super PACs or funding themselves.” 

But Steyer said his money does not matter, it is his message that is important. 

“I think anyone that is running for President has one issue, and one issue only: you have a message and a vision that connects with Americans,” Steyer said.

He explained that he has had success taking on corporations over the last decade, and his plan to erase the corporate takeover of government has resonated with many voters. 

Hours after former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced the end to his presidential campaign, Steyer said he was a great candidate and has much respect for his work that he has done. 

“I think he has been a very effective representative for Coloradans and...has been a very strong Democrat,” Steyer said. “I am honestly hoping that he is going to continue to make really good contributions.”

Steyer announced last Tuesday that his campaign reached the 130,000 dollar donor threshold for the debate in Houston, but he must reach two percent in one more poll by August 28th to join 9 other democrats on the stage.