Orthodox Jew for NJ governor?
The NJ Libertarian Party announced its candidate for governor: Parsippany resident Kenneth Kaplan. According to his press person, “As far as I know, he is the only Orthodox Jew who has ever been elected to run for governor by any political party in New Jersey” — although his synagogue is Conservative. We’ll find out more.
UPDATE: Bob Wiener interviewed Kaplan for the NJJN; and Kaplan explains he is a member of Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston and a board member of its men’s club. “I attend services even though I am not shomer Shabbos,” he said. “I have a long history for support of Jewish causes.”
Here’s the bio from the NJLP:
KENNETH R. KAPLAN: BIO and SOME KEY ISSUES
Kenneth Kaplan is President of KenKap Realty Corp., a company he founded after being associated with Edgerton Realty Corp. for 6 years as a broker/salesperson, following a 22 year tenure at Archie Schwartz Company. He also has experience in retail business and law. A graduate of Brandeis University and NYU Law School, he was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1972 and remains a member in good standing.
Kaplan, 61 years old, is the divorced father of two grown children.
Born in Newark, Kaplan grew up in West Orange, and lived in Rockaway and Livingston before moving to his current residence in Parsippany. Thus, he has a life-long familiarity with New Jersey’s people and issues. His community involvement includes membership in the Livingston Lions Club, where he is a past president. He is a member of Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston.
One of Kaplan’s priorities is phasing out the New Jersey state income tax as we reduce the size and cost of state government. Another key goal of Kaplan’s is enactment of a marriage equality law in New Jersey to allow same sex couples to marry. Says Kaplan, “I see this as a civil rights issue, where all citizens should enjoy the same rights.”
Kaplan offers a creative solution to the decades long quest to create affordable housing in New Jersey. He wants the state to enact legislation to supersede local zoning ordinances, removing zoning barriers which currently prevent owners of single family homes from converting them to two family homes and the owners of two family homes from converting them to three families. This will solve the affordable housing crisis not just for people moving into the new units, but also for the families, many of whom might be senior citizens, who may now be able to remain in houses that had become too large and too expensive for their needs. This will solve the affordable housing problem without the expenditure of any tax dollars.
Kaplan also wants to see a state constitutional amendment to allow for greater flexibility in educating our children. He sees vouchers as an immediate way to give parents more choice in where their children attend school.
JustASC is written by Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the 