Stacey Abrams takes new job at environmental group pushing for gas stove ban

Stacy Abrams has taken a new job at Rewiring America — a dark money environmental advocacy group pushing for the ban of gas stoves and other regulations.

The two-time failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate is joining the nonprofit as senior counsel, where she will help “launch and scale a national awareness campaign and a network of large and small communities working to help Americans go electric,” according to a press release from the organization.

“She will also guide the organization as it builds the tools and capacity to connect Americans and their communities to machines, installers, Inflation Reduction Act incentives and jobs in the clean energy transition,” the group added.

Rewiring America, which describes itself as the “leading electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying our homes, businesses, and communities,” was founded in 2020 with the goal of broadly electrifying the country in an effort to curb climate change. The organization has also pushed for major environmental programs.

“I’m excited to join Rewiring America to share the benefits of electrification and ensure families get their fair share,” Abrams said in a statement. “I look forward to working together as we build the tools that will transform everyday Americans from energy consumers to energy moguls in their own communities.”

She cited growing up on the Gulf Coast “not far from a significant concentration of the petrochemical industry,” for showing her “the environmental and health injustices that visit communities isolated from political power and economic opportunity.”

Abrams said in an Instagram post announcing the new gig that she joined Rewiring America “because it has a vision to connect communities across our nation and show how we can choose clean energy without sacrificing our livelihoods or our wallets.”

Co-founder and CEO Ari Matusiak attributed Abrams’ hire to her dedication to public service and said she is a “visionary organizer who will accelerate our work and expand the audience for the benefits of electrification — the most equity-centered climate strategy we have.”

Matusiak founded Rewiring America with Alex Laskey and Saul Griffith, who have all netted millions in buyouts or received significant federal funding for their environmental ventures, while they also simultaneously advocated for policies that would benefit those ventures through the nonprofit, according to Fox News.

The group has had an increasingly influential role in policy decisions at the state and federal level and had a presence at the White House during a Dec. 14 electrification summit and another event celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act, Fox News reported.

The Inflation Reduction Act is the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history with $369 billion committed to environmental projects.

Despite its growing influence, Rewiring America donors are shielded from the public. The group also does not file federal tax forms since it is sponsored by the Windward Fund — a nonprofit that is part of the billion-dollar dark money network managed by the Washington, DC-based Arabella Advisors, according to Fox News.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to phase out gas stoves in the state and ban gas hook-ups in new buildings alongside a “cap and invest” program she claims could raise $1 billion per year by making “large-scale” polluters pay up as part of zealous efforts to meet New York’s legally mandated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2050.

More than 40 million households in the US use gas stoves. New findings have shown that gas stoves — even when turned off — may cause asthma in children and put adults at risk of cancer.