Phyllis Kahn

{{Short description|American politician (born 1937)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Phyllis Kahn | image = Phyllis Kahn 2012.jpg | image_size = 190px | office = Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives | constituency = District 57A (1973–83) District 58B (1983–93) District 59B (1993–2013) District 60B (2013–16) | term_start = January 2, 1973 | term_end = January 2, 2017 | preceded = ''redrawn district'' | succeeded = Ilhan Omar | party = Democratic-Farmer-Labor | birth_name = Phyllis Lorberblatt | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1937|3|23}} | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = Cornell University (B.A.) Yale University (Ph.D.) Harvard University (M.P.A.) | occupation = genetics researcher | spouse = {{marriage|Donald W. Kahn|1956|January 16, 2015|end=d}} | children = 2 |}} '''Phyllis Lorberblatt Kahn''' (born March 23, 1937) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented portions of the city of Minneapolis for 44 years.<ref name="leg.state.mn.us">{{cite web|url=http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=10302 |title=Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Kahn, Phyllis L |publisher=Leg.state.mn.us |date= |accessdate=2010-07-20}}</ref> On August 9, 2016, Ilhan Omar defeated Kahn in the DFL primary for District 60B.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Coolican|first1=J. Patrick|title=Ilhan Omar makes history with victory over long-serving Rep. Phyllis Kahn|url=http://www.startribune.com/low-turnout-expected-despite-key-races-on-primary-election-day/389596131/#1|work=Minneapolis Star Tribune|date=August 10, 2016|archive-date=March 30, 2019|access-date=August 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330180429/http://www.startribune.com/low-turnout-expected-despite-key-races-on-primary-election-day/389596131/#1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Education and career== Kahn received a B.A. in physics from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in biophysics from Yale University. She later received an M.P.A. from Harvard University. She is a retired professor of biophysics.

==Political career== She was the chief author and advocate of the 1975 Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, one of the first laws enacted anywhere in the world banning the smoking of tobacco in public places. This law has been used as a template for later legislation to protect the public from "secondhand smoke," and was updated and expanded in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/ss/ssmciaa.htm |title=House.leg.state.mn.us |publisher=House.leg.state.mn.us |accessdate=2014-08-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220172140/http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/ss/ssmciaa.htm |archivedate=February 20, 2012 }}</ref> In 1989, Kahn proposed reducing the voting age in Minnesota to 12. She said "history has shown us that when a segment of society is denied the right to vote, all the rights of that segment of society are then inferior."

Kahn has also repeatedly advocated for repeal of so-called "Blue Laws," which forbid liquor stores from operating on Sundays and some holidays.

In 2003 she introduced a bill to repeal the ban on first-cousin marriage in Minnesota, but it died in committee. Republican Minority Leader Marty Seifert criticized the bill in response, saying it would "turn us into a cold Arkansas."<ref>[http://www.tpt.org/aatc/2009/06/25/quotes_for_inspiration TPT St. Paul. "Quotes for Inspiration." June 25, 2009.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906043319/http://www.tpt.org/aatc/2009/06/25/quotes_for_inspiration |date=September 6, 2009 }}</ref> According to the University of Minnesota's ''The Wake'', Kahn was aware the bill had little chance of passing but introduced it anyway to draw attention to the issue. She reportedly got the idea after learning that cousin marriage is an acceptable form of marriage among some cultural groups that have a strong presence in Minnesota, namely the Hmong and Somali.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schultz |first=Morgon Mae |url=http://www.wakemag.org/archive/20050125.pdf |title=Lawmaking is a Little Like Test-taking |volume=3 |issue=8 |journal=The Wake |pages=4–5, 7 |date=January 26, 2005 |access-date=December 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717015436/http://www.wakemag.org/archive/20050125.pdf |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

She is a longtime advocate for education, health care and medical technology, agriculture and the natural environment, and human rights, particularly for senior citizens and women.

===Minnesota House of Representatives=== Kahn was first elected to represent her area of Minneapolis in 1972 and served continuously from then until January 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Becker|first1=Jessie|title=Kahn will represent University area again|url=http://www.mndaily.com/news/metro-state/2014/11/05/kahn-will-represent-university-area-again|work=Minnesota Daily|date=November 5, 2014}}</ref> In the August 2016 DFL primary election for District 60B, Kahn finished third of three candidates, so her name was not on the November 2016 ballot.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-08-09|title=Longtime State Rep. Phyllis Kahn Defeated By Somali Activist|url=https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/08/09/phyllis-kahn-ilhan-omar-primary/|access-date=2020-10-13|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ilhan Omar makes history with victory over long-serving Rep. Phyllis Kahn|url=https://www.startribune.com/low-turnout-expected-despite-key-races-on-primary-election-day/389596131/|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Star Tribune|date=10 August 2016 }}</ref>

==Personal life== Kahn is Jewish.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ajwnews.com/trailblazing-jewish-lawmaker/|title=Trailblazing Jewish Lawmaker|first=Mordecai|last=Specktor|publisher=American Jewish World|date=July 21, 2010|accessdate=May 4, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.startribune.com/july-16-court-sides-with-kahn-in-election-judge-dispute/267264381/|title=Court sides with Kahn in election judge dispute|first=Maya|last=Rao|publisher=Star Tribune|date=July 16, 2014|accessdate=May 4, 2021}}</ref>

Kahn was married to University of Minnesota mathematics professor Donald Kahn for 58 years, until his death in January 2015. Her father-in-law was investor Irving Kahn, who lived to the age of 109.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Prather|first1=Shannon|last2=Rao|first2=Maya|title=Obituary: Donald Kahn, U professor, husband of Rep. Phyllis Kahn|url=http://www.startribune.com/donald-kahn-u-professor-and-husband-of-rep-phyllis-kahn-dies/288930591/|work=Star Tribune|date=January 18, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=173956772 DONALD KAHN Obituary]</ref>

In 2004, Kahn was charged with theft for removal of Republican campaign literature from doorsteps of several houses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mndaily.com/node/25722 |title=Kahn faces theft charges |date=2004-08-04 |accessdate=2015-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714215139/http://www.mndaily.com/node/25722 |archive-date=2015-07-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> She pleaded guilty and paid a $200 fine.

Kahn was a leading opponent of efforts by DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis to construct an athletic field on its campus in her neighborhood on Nicollet Island, giving her views frequently at public hearings. Ultimately, the school was allowed to build the field.

Kahn once ran a marathon in 3 hours and 17 minutes, and signed up for the 2002 Twin Cities Marathon.<ref>{{cite news |work=Saint Paul Pioneer Press |last=Brothers |first=Bruce |title=MCGREGOR CASHES IN EN ROUTE TO (HOPEFULLY) '04 GAMES |date=2 June 2002}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == {{MN-legdb|10302}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Phyllis}} Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Brooklyn Category:Politicians from Minneapolis Category:Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Category:Cornell University alumni Category:Yale University alumni Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni Category:Jewish state legislators in Minnesota Category:Jewish American people in Minnesota politics Category:Women state legislators in Minnesota Category:Jewish American women in politics Category:21st-century American women politicians Category:20th-century American women politicians Category:21st-century American Jews Category:21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature Category:20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature