Tim Canova launches PAC after his loss to Wasserman Schultz
Tim Canova’s first foray into politics — running for Congress — wasn’t successful. Now, he’s taking a different approach to advancing his progressive ideas, announcing Thursday that he’s starting a political action committee.
Canova will serve as chairman of Progress For All, which he said would support issues and candidates at the national, state and local levels.
He said there’s a place for the new organization “particularly here in South Florida and throughout the state of Florida [where] there aren’t that many grassroots organizations that are promoting progressive organizations and candidates.”
It also serves as a way to stay politically active in case he decides to run for office again. Lastweek, Canova appeared at a small demonstration opposing the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. And he’s filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Congress again in 2018 but said he hasn’t decided if he’ll actually be a candidate.
The new political action committee allows Canova to harness the large database of political donors from across the country that he built during his unsuccessful campaign for Congress. The $3.8 million he raised fromthe congressional race came from more than 80,000 individual contributors.
“We have had such a huge grassroots following that we want to harness that energy,” he said.
Last month, Canova lost his bid for the Democratic nomination in the Broward/Miami-Dade County 23rd Congressional District. He received 43 percent of the vote against incumbent U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston.
Canova, who lives in Hollywood, is a professor of lawand public finance at Nova Southeastern University. He’s on leave this fall, but said he expects to return to teaching next year.
Canova said he isn’t drawing a salary from Progress For All but said that could change in the future.
The PAC is set up in a way that caps the size of donations at $5,000 per year. He contrasted that with the political group set up by Bernie Sanders, the unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders endorsed Canova and made fundraising pitches on his behalf — but didn’t come to South Florida to campaign for him before the Aug. 30 primary.
Canvoa said his Progress for All would have a different legal framework from Sanders’ new Our Revolution political organization. Canova noted that Sanders’ group was set up in a way that it can accept large, undisclosed contribution, something that has caused controversy among progressive activists.
The Progress For All agenda includes the issues Canova pushed during his unsuccessful campaign against Wasserman Schultz.
His group will support candidates who oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, support campaign finance reform and “election integrity,” work to address climate change andwant to end the war on drugs and mass incarceration. Another priority is combating climate change, including banning fracking for oil, ending subsidies for the oil and gas industry and supporting solar power.