Anna Kaplan

Anna Kaplan (née Monahemi) (born August 23, 1965) is an American politician from Great Neck, New York. A Democrat, she was a member of the New York State Senate, representing New York's 7th State Senate district, which runs from the North Shore to roughly the central part of Western Nassau County on Long Island. She was a member of the so-called "Long Island Six," a group of six Democrats who represent Long Island in the New York State Senate and often vote as a block.[1] She was elected in 2018 as part of a wave of Democrats who defeated Republican incumbents and brought control of the New York Senate to the Democrats for only the third time since World War II.[2] She lost re-election in 2022 to Jack Martins.

Anna Kaplan
Kaplan speaking at a March for Our Lives demonstration in 2018
Member of the New York Senate
from the 7th district
In office
January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2022
Preceded byElaine Phillips
Succeeded byJack Martins
Personal details
Born
Anna Monahemi

(1965-08-23) August 23, 1965
Tabriz, Iran
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDarren Kaplan
Children2
EducationYeshiva University (BS, JD)

Kaplan is the first Iranian-American to be elected to either of New York state's legislative chambers[3] and she is the first former political refugee to serve in the New York Senate.[4]

Early life and education

Kaplan was born to an Iranian Jewish family in Tabriz, Iran,[5] and raised in Tehran, where her father was a carpet dealer.[6] When the Islamic Revolution swept the country, Anna's parents sent her to the United States for safety at age 13.[7][8] Arriving as an unaccompanied child refugee[6] in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Anna was sent to live with a foster family in Chicago, Illinois, until her parents were able to legally enter the United States. After her family reunited in Chicago, they moved to Queens, New York, and then to Great Neck, New York.[9]

Kaplan attended the Stern College at Yeshiva University, and received her J.D. from Cardozo School of Law in New York City.[10]

Early political career

Kaplan started her political career as a member of the North Hempstead Town Board in 2011, and served until her election to the state senate. She had previously served as a trustee of the Great Neck Public Library and was also a member of the North Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals.[7]

2016 congressional primary

On January 11, 2016, Kaplan announced that she would run for the seat in the United States House of Representatives for New York's 3rd congressional district being vacated by retiring congressman Steve Israel.[11] Kaplan was defeated in the 2016 New York Congressional Democratic Primary by former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.[12] Suozzi won the general election.[13]

2018 New York Senate election

On April 27, 2018, flanked by Nassau County Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Kaplan announced her candidacy for the New York State Senate's 7th District to a large gathering of supporters and state and local Democratic elected officials at the "Yes We Can Community Center" in Westbury, New York.[14] On August 1, 2018, Kaplan became the first candidate for New York State office to be endorsed by former President Barack Obama.[15]

On November 6, 2018, Kaplan defeated incumbent Senator Elaine Phillips and won election to the New York State Senate with 55 percent of the vote.[16]

State Senate

Kaplan was Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business, and was a member of the Senate Committees on Children and Families, Internet and Technology, Judiciary, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Transportation and Women's Issues. She was also a member of the Legislative Women's Caucus.[4]

In January 2019, Kaplan was one of four new state senators spotlighted by the New York Times in a piece on first-time New York senators.[17]

Personal life

Kaplan and her husband, Darren, live in North Hills, New York,[18] and have two college-age daughters.[11]

References
  1. Timothy Bolger (December 17, 2018). "Long Island Upsets Usher In State Senate Firsts". longislandpress. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  2. "Big LI wins help Democrats take control of NY Senate". Newsday. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  3. Cortellessa, Eric. "Once a refugee from Iran, a Jewish state senator ascends in New York politics". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  4. c. "About Anna M. Kaplan". www.nysenate.gov. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  5. Sam Kestenbaum (June 27, 2016). "Meet the Iranian Jew Who's Running for Congress — Despite the Donald Trump Trolls". The Forward.
  6. "Anna Kaplan profile". dev2.iawfoundation.org/. Iranian American Women Foundation. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  7. San Antonio, Bill. "North Hempstead councilwoman Anna Kaplan touts record in re-election campaign". Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  8. Zendrian, Alexandra (November 9, 2011). "Kaplan Wins North Hempstead Town Council Race – Port Washington, NY Patch". Portwashington.patch.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  9. Hopper, Justin (October 29, 2015). "Meet the Candidates for District Council 4". The Roslyn News. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  10. "Councilwoman Anna M. Kaplan (4th District)". Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  11. Jacoby, Sheri Jacoby. "Anna Kaplan To Run For Congress". Great Neck Record. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  12. Brady, Ryan. "Tom Suozzi wins Democratic primary". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  13. Milan, Rashed; Twarowski, Christopher. "Suozzi Wins Israel's Vacant Seat, LI's Congressional Incumbents Re-elected". Long Island Press. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  14. Jacoby, Sheri Jacoby. "Anna Kaplan To Run For State Senate". Port Washington News. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  15. Clausen, Janelle. "President Obama endorses Kaplan in contested state Senate race". Blank Slate Media. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  16. 2018 Election Results, General Election Results -- *Certified --December 14, 2018*, New York State Board of Elections, retrieved December 30, 2018
  17. ""They Won Senate Seats. Now Comes the Hard Part: Adjusting to Albany." New York Times, January 11, 2019". The New York Times.
  18. "Anna M. Kaplan". Newsday. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
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