"The day Tom Steyer suspended his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, in late February, was the same day the first death from COVID-19 was reported in the United States.
Two months later, with businesses closing and millions of people out of work from a pandemic-induced downturn, California Gov. Gavin Newsom tapped Steyer to help craft the state’s economic response. Steyer will co-chair the governor’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery, working with industry titans such as Walt Disney Co.'s Bob Iger and Apple’s Tim Cook — as well as former governors from both major political parties — to develop recommendations for government to get the economy moving again.
Steyer is a billionaire former hedge fund manager turned climate change activist, who ran for president on a progressive platform that included slashing planet-warming emissions through big investments in clean energy. The clean energy sector is hurting badly right now, with more than 100,000 unemployment claims filed nationwide, including 20,000 in California, in March alone.
The Times talked with Steyer on Tuesday about how ambitious clean energy programs might help California and the nation recover from the damage wrought by the coronavirus crisis."
Sammy Roth reports for the Los Angeles Times April 21, 2020.
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