An email sent out by the Anna Kaplan campaign on July 6 about a chance to “meet and greet” the town councilwoman and state Senate hopeful the next day accidentally revealed its more than 140 recipients.
The disclosure of email addresses to the 140 recipients prompted at least one not so friendly greeting.
“Idiots to not send such emails,” one recipient and respondent replied over email, all in capital letters. “Bcc. Remove my address. You lost any chance of my vote.”
The campaign message came from an old account hosted on Google’s servers.
In turn, the email addresses of 144 people ranging from advocates and residents to local officials normally masked were disclosed.
In a message to “friends and supporters” – this time from the proper account – Kaplan said one of her campaign’s “hard-working volunteers” accidentally sent out that email from a FriendsofAnnaKaplan Gmail account, which “doesn’t have any built-in rules to prevent” disclosures.
“I’m sorry that happened and my campaign staff and I have taken steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again. We value your privacy and we want to make sure your information is protected,” the email said. “Thanks for your understanding during this incredibly busy time.”
Tess McRae, a spokeswoman for the Anna Kaplan campaign, declined to give more details on the “taken steps,” what happened to the specific person that sent out the email, and how he or she had access to the old account, but said the revealing email went against standard procedures.
“Campaign protocol was violated when this unsanctioned email was sent. We sincerely apologize that this led to the inclusion of emails in the blast,” McRae said. “We want to assure all of our supports that measures have been put in place to ensure nothing like this will ever happen again.”
Kaplan is running against incumbent state Sen. Elaine Phillips, a Republican, to represent the 7th district. This encompasses the Town of North Hempstead and parts of the Towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay.
