Name: Chad Klitzman
Campaign website: www.countonchad.com
Date, place of birth: November 10, 1993 / Hollywood, Florida
Education:
JD with honors, Columbia Law School (2018)
BA in Political Science, summa cum laude, University of Pennsylvania (2015)
I am the proud product of a Broward County Public Schools education and finished in the top 1% of my class at Cypress Bay High School in 2012.
Occupation: Attorney & Screenwriter
Work history past 15 years. List in reverse chronological order.
From April 2022 to June 2024, I worked as an equity capital markets lawyer at White & Case – one of the world’s leading law firms.
From September 2018 to October 2019 and from October 2020 to April 2022, I worked at another leading firm – Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. I worked on several high-profile, multi-billion dollar corporate transactions and provided free legal services to those unable to afford a lawyer as part of my pro bono practice. I am admitted to the Florida, New York and Colorado Bars.
While in law school, from 2016 to 2018, I worked in the legal department at JetBlue Airways. I also served as the Executive Managing Editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems and published a legal note dealing largely with administrative agency operations.
Additionally, I served in the Assistant Chief Counsel’s office at the Federal Highway Administration (2016) and was tasked with interpreting agency statutes and protocols. I also spent a summer in the litigation department of the Miami office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (2017).
I was selected to serve in the Obama White House in 2014 and was placed in the Office of Management and Administration, joining the East Wing team responsible for coordinating logistics for events on White House grounds. I managed dozens of volunteers and worked alongside senior staff in staging events on White House grounds, some of which brought tens of thousands of people to the mansion and gardens.
While in college, I received concurrent positions in the offices of Governor John Hickenlooper and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (2013). I also spent a summer analyzing agency processes at the Federal Aviation Administration (2014).
Finally, I wrote and co-produced the multi-million dollar Netflix original film “Candy Jar,” a production that employed over 100 people and starred Academy Award- and Emmy-winning actors. The film was released in April 2018.
Have you been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime, had an adjudication withheld or had a matter sealed or expunged? If yes, please explain.
No.
Have you been a plaintiff or defendant in a civil action, including bankruptcy or foreclosure or had a restraining order issued against you? If so, please explain.
No.
Why are you running for this office and what specifically makes you a better candidate than your opponent(s)?
Senate District 35 is my home. I grew up here. I went to public school here. And my passion for public service is rooted in my early experiences in the district as Student Ambassador to the Broward League of Cities and President of Kids Voting Broward.
Despite lucrative opportunities to permanently move away, I made the decision to return to Florida after law school, because we’ve become far less affordable and inclusive and are desperately in need of new leadership. Getting voters activated is in my DNA and what we need now more than ever is a new generation of leadership equipped to tackle our growing list of challenges. If elected, I would be the youngest member of the Senate and one of its only LGBTQ+ members.
Having knocked on almost 8,000 doors personally, I have the energy to deliver that generational change and address key challenges like the insurance crisis and the assault on our rights. Additionally, as our websites show, I am the only person in this race with concrete proposals responsive to the needs of our community and have the backing of the greatest number of current and former legislators.
But this seat is about more than pressing buttons in Tallahassee. We need a fighter who stands ready to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, and I am the only person in this race with a demonstrated history of supporting candidates financially and also pounding the pavement for them. We have (unnecessarily) lost critical school board and city commission seats to extremists and need to undo the damage – and I’m not waiting to get elected to get started on that work.
My campaign is home to the largest voter outreach operation of any legislative campaign in the state, and over 50 young people (many of whom are receiving college credit) are making calls, knocking on doors and assembling biweekly on Zoom for lectures about campaigns and the legislative process.
What are the three most important issues currently facing your legislative district?
Property Insurance/Affordable Housing – Every day, I meet voters who can no longer afford to live in Senate District 35 (or anywhere in Florida). Multiple reports have shown that Florida is now one of the most, if not the most, expensive places to live in America – and our insurance premiums regularly set national records. We need to find innovative ways to decrease the cost of living in this state and incentivize the development of affordable housing so our hometown heroes – teachers, firefighters, police officers, etc. – can afford to live in the communities they serve.
Restoration of Rights – Our rights are under attack, and, in many cases, have been stripped away. As an LGBTQ+ person who hopes to raise a family in Florida some day, this fight is personal. Voters in this district are deeply concerned about Florida’s new abortion ban, the endless attacks on our ability to cast a ballot (especially with respect to vote by mail), the destructive rhetoric being hurled towards the LGBTQ+ community and the dangerous attacks on classroom learning (ie. book bans). On the voting front specifically, we need champions of democracy serving in state legislative offices who are committed to securely expanding access to the ballot. I spent a year of my life studying Supervisor of Elections offices while running for Broward Supervisor of Elections and visited all 67 Florida county elections offices in the process. I hope to use what I learned through that experience to make our elections more accessible and secure statewide.
Environmental Protection – We need to combat the impacts of sea-level rise and quickly improve our drainage infrastructure to mitigate the impact of flooding that seems to get worse each and every year. This work also needs to include preserving the Everglades, a significant portion of which is in the district.
After the 2024 session, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all money for arts and cultural programs and projects, estimated at $32 million, to more than 600 organizations. Do you agree or disagree with this veto and why?
I strongly disagree with this veto and would be well-positioned to advocate for arts and cultural programs as a member of the Florida Senate. If elected, I would be the only professional artist in the Florida Legislature.
The reason behind Governor DeSantis’ veto is deeply disturbing but not very surprising given his track record. Governor DeSantis’ alleged concern was that some of the money – .002%, to be exact – would go to the Orlando and Tampa Fringe Festivals. Despite both Fringe Festivals offering to not accept their funds if it meant the rest of the allotted arts dollars would get to their intended recipients, Governor DeSantis has not budged and remains committed to flaming culture wars rather than making decisions that are in the best interests of Floridians and our economy.
Arts and cultural programs and projects are an important economic engine for our state – generating nearly $6 billion in economic activity every year and supporting over 90,000 jobs. We must support these initiatives given the powerful impact that the arts can have on a community – especially for young people. I have also been vocal in my support for increased funding for arts education and would support our state working to compete with Georgia and other states that offer tax incentives for film production.
In the 2024 session, the Legislature passed a major change to Florida’s ethics law (SB 7014) requiring a complainant to have personal knowledge of the facts of a case. Would you have voted for or against this law and why?
I would not have supported SB 7014. In an era when there is record distrust in governmental institutions, the last thing we should be doing is creating an environment that is less transparent and hinders the ability of our people to hold leadership accountable.
The new requirement that complainants have personal knowledge of the facts of a case will almost certainly result in a marked decrease in the number of complaints that are filed given that publicly available information will no longer be considered sufficient for the purposes of a valid complaint. With a requirement that folks have “personal knowledge” of an alleged violation, a small subset of government employees would likely be the only folks truly eligible to file complaints against public officers and employees for ethics violations but likely will not do so given fear of retribution (unless acting pursuant to whistleblower statutes).
In addition, SB 7014 significantly weakens the power of local ethics commissions – many of which are better equipped to tackle local issues than the State Commission on Ethics – and only increases the likelihood of corruption in local government. At a time when there are fewer and fewer journalists covering city hall, it is critical we empower citizens to take action if appropriate. This legislation does the opposite.
In the 2024 case, the Legislature passed a law (HB 1365) that prohibits homeless people from sleeping in public spaces. Would you have voted for or against this law and why?
I would not have voted for HB1365. We have an affordability crisis in this state and it is despicable that rather than tackle that issue head on, the Legislature effectively criminalized homelessness. We should be exploring “Housing First” options that have worked in other areas and reflect the basic principle that if someone doesn’t have a place to call home, every other aspect of their life becomes far more difficult. A study from 2019 showed that permanent supportive housing programs showed an up to 96% housing retention rate and participants had significant declines in the need for other social services, resulting in considerable savings to taxpayers. Having written a legal note at Columbia on the disturbing college student homelessness epidemic, this is a topic I am quite familiar with, and I hope to meaningfully address the underlying causes of homelessness as a member of the Florida Senate.
I also want to note another reason I would have voted against this law is because it is yet another unfunded mandate that unfairly burdens our local governments.
Should state abortion laws include exceptions for rape, incest or human trafficking, and why?
Yes. State abortion laws should include exceptions for victims of rape, incest and human trafficking. After enduring truly traumatizing experiences against their own free will, victims of rape, incest and human trafficking should not then be forced to carry a child to term against their own free will. For such a position to now be state law speaks to the extreme nature of the Florida Republican Party under Governor Ron DeSantis. We also have to acknowledge that such bans increase the number of women seeking abortions illegally, and that poses a significant public health risk.
I support a woman’s right to choose and will do everything in my power to restore reproductive rights in the Sunshine State and codify reproductive rights in the Florida Constitution. This work begins by fighting to clear 60% on Amendment Four this November and then doing whatever we can to ensure the will of the voters is honored as the changes to state law get implemented.
Do you support or oppose a proposed “open carry” or “constitutional carry” law for Florida and why?
I oppose “open carry” laws and the recently passed “constitutional carry” law. These types of laws do not make our communities safer and only increase the likelihood there will be another tragic incident involving a gun. A Johns Hopkins study found that in states where weapons laws were pulled back, there was a marked increase in the number of assaults involving a firearm. And while I support someone’s right to own a gun, I also believe there is no need for a civilian to possess an assault rifle.
As a member of the Florida Senate, I would support the strengthening of red flag laws, the implementation of universal background checks on the purchases of firearms and a requirement for background checks on the sale and transfer of ammunition (“Jaime’s Law”). These are common-sense measures that the vast majority of Floridians support. I have also worked on school safety legislation with School Board Chair Lori Alhadeff – one of my supporters — over the years and hope to improve emergency response connectivity in as many places as possible to ensure help comes as quickly as possible when it is needed.
I am proud to be the only candidate in the race with the support of our firefighters, first responders and the Police Benevolent Association.
What additional measures do you support to address Florida’s property insurance crisis?
Having personally knocked on close to 8,000 doors, I know property insurance is the number one issue on voters’ minds. I am the only candidate that has publicly disclosed specific ways I would tackle the crisis and neither of my opponents include specific ways to address the crisis as a key issue on either of their campaign websites. Every day, I meet folks who are struggling to stay in their homes simply because they cannot afford to pay property insurance premiums or have just let their policies lapse. This is not sustainable and leaves our state vulnerable in the event of a disaster.
In the short term, we should expand access to and improve the administration of the My Safe Florida Home Program so additional homeowners – and an increased number of condo associations – are eligible for state funds to harden their properties. Folks who have participated in this program have not only secured their homes through the installation of items like impact windows but have also seen modest savings in their property insurance premiums; however, the program continues to have high demand and folks who have properties with an insured value of over $700,000 are unable to participate and the pilot program for condos only includes condos within 15 miles of the coast. This shuts out many Senate District 35 residents.
In terms of longer-term solutions, we should revive the recently proposed HB 1055 that would have created an insurance rebate program for low-income seniors, as well as HB 889 which would have increased the maximum value of homes eligible to be covered by Citizens from $700,000 to $1,000,000. We also need to stabilize the reinsurance market, and I would support exploring the option put forth last session that would have entailed Citizens becoming a provider of wind coverage for all.
Describe in detail one demographic, economic or social factor about your legislative district that sets it apart from all others.
Having literally walked up and down the streets of Senate District 35, from East Miramar to West Pines and everywhere in between, I have come to appreciate that this district is an incredible microcosm of Florida – more so than any other district in the state. While many districts are either majority White or majority minority districts, we are a melting pot of all different ethnic and economic backgrounds in a somewhat suburban setting nestled just miles away from the bustling cities of Fort Lauderdale and Miami. However, despite our proximity to these large cities, we also are home to vast areas of the Florida Everglades – one of the true natural wonders of our country and an ecosystem desperately in need of more funding to combat invasive species and the impacts of overdevelopment.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Senate District 35 is also home to the champions of the Stanley Cup – the Florida Panthers!
