In 7th Senate District, our choice is Anna Kaplan

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In just her first term in the State Senate, Anna Kaplan has drafted and sponsored more than 30 bills that have been signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. One requires part-time state residents to submit to background checks before acquiring gun licenses here, prevents the arming of teachers in schools and enables family members and local officials to seek court orders directing potentially dangerous individuals to relinquish their firearms.

Kaplan has also introduced recent bills requiring real estate agents to undergo at least two hours of implicit bias training as part of their license-renewal process every two years, after Newsday exposed how agents’ actions keep Long Island segregated, and to exempt restaurants from paying taxes on equipment they need for outdoor dining during the coronavirus pandemic.

For these reasons, and for everything she has done for the Franklin Square and Elmont communities, we believe that Kaplan, a Democrat from Great Neck, should be re-elected to the Senate.

She has been active in Elmont since she took office two years ago, and took part in various food distribution events while the community was on lockdown this spring and summer. She has consulted with small business owners about their needs, and has sponsored a number of webinars to inform community members about financial assistance available to them during the pandemic.

To make up the state’s budget deficit, Kaplan is considering ways to increase revenue, including with mobile sports betting and by lobbying the federal government for more state aid, which is sorely needed.

Her opponent, Republican Dave Franklin, of Port Washington, had some compelling arguments about overturning the state’s controversial bail reform law, saying that it eliminates judicial discretion, and has said that police reform should be based on community needs. But we feel that Kaplan better understands the larger impact of her decisions, and we encourage voters to return her to Albany to continue making them.