By James Tatter, Editor-in-Chief
Ted Kaplan, a 1965 Reynolds graduate, is no stranger to the political process.
After serving in the Navy in Vietnam, Kaplan served three terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives before serving five terms in the N.C. Senate, two of which were as majority leader. He then held the position of Forsyth County Commissioner from 2006-2010.
Kaplan hasn’t held an office since finishing his term as County Commissioner. He now hopes to change that.
“I’m at it again,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan is running for an at-large spot on the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners in the election this November.
And this time, he has company on the ballot. Kaplan’s wife, Deanna, is running for the Forsyth County Board of Education from District 2.
“I decided several years ago that I would like to run for office,” Deanna said. “I want to be a voice and an advocate for every child, parent and teacher.”
Deanna cites her time as PTA president at Jefferson Middle School as one motivation for her bid in this year’s election. She explained that the school had great teachers, parents, students and a great principal, but that it suffered from certain drawbacks, such as the lack of access to adequate technology.
“I could either sit back and complain or get involved and make a difference,” Deanna said. “I decided at that point to run for School Board.”
Her husband believes that together, the Kaplans could use their different roles to make a big difference.
“Education and the economy go hand in hand. If we put our energy toward those issues, we will make Forsyth a much better place for our future,” Ted said.
The Kaplan family has had to invest a lot of energy into the election process.
“Getting support takes time and effort,” Ted said. “Lots of meetings and lunches to drum up support.”
The Kaplans have five children, three of whom have graduated from Reynolds. Two of their children currently attend RJR: Katherine is a senior and Max is a freshman.
Katherine, their youngest daughter, says that having politically involved parents has been a learning experience for her. There are occasional drawbacks to having both of her parents running for office.
“(The worst part is) probably having to be Max’s chauffeur, considering they are often busy and not home to take and pick him up from practice,” Katherine said. “Also, I wasn’t allowed to participate in an extra-credit opportunity for AP Government and Politics in helping work the polls because my parents’ names were on every ballot.”
Max sees his parents’ busyness as an opportunity for sibling bonding.
“I feel like I get to spend more time with my sister and talk about school and tips on being a freshman and we get along better than we used to,” Max said.
While Katherine may not get the extra credit at the polls, she will still be participating on Election Day.
“Not only am I standing at the polls, but I have also been recruiting fellow classmates and friends to stand at the polls after school, too,” Katherine said. She then added: “Speaking of which, if anyone would like to help me out, let me know!”