Anna Kaplan touts life experience in Congress run

Noah Manskar

As a North Hempstead town councilwoman, Anna Kaplan has less government experience than three of her Democratic opponents in the 3rd Congressional District.

But her life experiences as a woman and Iranian immigrant give her a perspective on lawmaking that none of them can offer, Kaplan said in a sit-down interview with Blank Slate Media.

“I don’t think this seat is about a candidate, any one of us,” she said. “I think it’s about so much more than that. … I think it’s about being responsive to the needs of the people you serve.”

Kaplan, a Kensington Great Neck resident, was the first of five Democrats to announce a run to replace U.S. Rep. Steve Israel in the district stretching across the North Shore from Whitestone, Queens, to Kings Park in Suffolk County.

Kaplan is not as well known as some of her opponents in the June 28 primary — former North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern, former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Jericho attorney Jonathan Clarke.

But she picked up a notable endorsement May 13 from EMILY’s List, an influential political committee that supports women running for office. Her campaign launched its first TV ad two days before, centered on Kaplan’s experience as an Iranian refugee,

Kaplan said she has established a reputation as a “truly good listener” who works across the aisle in her four years on the Town Board, citing her work with residents and lawmakers from both parties to revamp Manhasset Valley Park.

That experience, in addition to her own as an immigrant, equips Kaplan best to be “responsive” to the increasingly diverse 3rd District, she said.

“I really reach out to all different immigrant communities, all different people within the town, and I’ve made sure that they have a seat at the table,” she said.

Voters have told Kaplan on the campaign trail that they are most concerned with affordability, she said, a worry she has also heard as a councilwoman.

Kaplan said she would aim to bring more funds into the district for affordable housing and public education. She would also work to establish a $15 minimum wage and a national paid family leave program, which she said are crucial to help the middle class.

She would support lower student loan interest rates, but is not sure free community college tuition is realistic, she said.

“I believe when banks can borrow money at such low interest rates, we should definitely be able to get plans and programs available where we can have our next generation, our kids, borrowing money at a much lower interest rate to get their education,” Kaplan said.

Reducing gun violence by boosting mental health funding and requiring universal background checks for gun buyers would be another legislative priority for Kaplan, she said.

She is unsure whether she would support making gun manufacturers liable for deaths, she said, but she “could see (her)self” supporting an assault weapons ban.

“I believe we owe this to our next generation, to our kids,” she said.

Kaplan said she sees renewable energy as key to the future American economy and said the U.S. should invest more in the industry to create jobs.

For example, she said, the federal government could issue contracts to build wind or solar energy farms and eventually provide free or low-cost electricity to the entire country.

“I believe if France or Germany can do this, renewable energy, we really need to push on this a lot,” she said.

While she said underground fracking for natural gas should stop, Kaplan said she is unsure whether she would support a federal ban on it.

Citing her experience as a young immigrant who spent more than a year away from her family, Kaplan said she would support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and reforms making legal immigration easier.

“I believe the foundation and the fabric of this country is about immigration, immigrants coming here and working hard and becoming part of this country,” she said. “And I hope that always remains one of the basics of this country.”

Kaplan said she thinks the 10,000 Syrian refugees President Barack Obama has pledge to settle in the U.S. is a reasonable number, as she thinks “this is a crisis for the whole world.”

Kaplan was a vocal critic of the U.S. nuclear treaty with Iran when Obama was negotiating it last summer.

Now that the accord is being implemented, the U.S. needs to keep a close watch on Iran to ensure it’s complying with all its terms, Kaplan said.

“I think we have to be very, very cautious with Iran,” she said. “… This is not a regime that always acts in good faith and I’m very skeptical of giving them legitimacy.”

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