# Phyllis Kahn *Former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives (DFL–Minneapolis), 1973–2017* Phyllis Lorberblatt Kahn (born March 23, 1937) is a former [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] (DFL) member of the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]]. She held a seat representing parts of [[Minneapolis]] for 44 years.[^1][^2] Her House service ran from 1973 to 2017, and she is recorded as principal author of the Pay Equity Act of 1982.[^1][^3] Kahn lost the August 9, 2016 DFL primary for District 60B to [[Ilhan Omar]].[^2] Omar then won the seat in the general election on November 8, 2016, ending Kahn's 44-year incumbency.[^4] While serving as a state representative, Kahn joined the [[DFL Feminist Caucus]]. The caucus was founded in April 1973.[^5][^6] The record assembled here documents her authorship of several measures. It does not include the text of the 1982 pay equity act, its session-law chapter, or its roll-call vote.[^1] ## Who Kahn earned an undergraduate degree in physics at Cornell University. She took a doctorate in biophysics at Yale University and later a master's in public administration at Harvard University. She is described as a retired professor of biophysics.[^1][^7] In 2004 she was charged with theft for taking Republican campaign literature off the doorsteps of several houses. She pleaded guilty and paid a $200 fine.[^8] ## What **Pay equity.** Kahn is recorded as principal author of the Pay Equity Act of 1982.[^1] The project's claim catalogue lists this authorship among its validated claim:link pairs. It files the pair under the theory heading *Theory 1 — Title VII Disparate Treatment / §43A.191 / RICO + Qui Tam*.[^1] The pack carries no complaint, finding or court record concerning the act. **Clean indoor air.** Kahn was the chief author and advocate of the 1975 Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act. Wikipedia describes it as among the earliest laws anywhere to bar tobacco smoking in public places. The act served as a model for later secondhand-smoke legislation, and it was updated and expanded in 2005.[^9] **Voting age, Sunday sales.** In 1989 Kahn proposed lowering Minnesota's voting age to 12. In support she said that "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."[^10] She has also pressed repeatedly to repeal the "blue laws" that keep liquor stores closed on Sundays and some holidays.[^10] **Cousin marriage.** In 2003 she introduced a bill to end Minnesota's prohibition on first-cousin marriage, and it died in committee. Marty Seifert, then the Republican Minority Leader, responded that the bill would "turn us into a cold Arkansas."[^11] **DFL Feminist Caucus.** MNopedia, the [[Minnesota Historical Society]] encyclopedia, names Kahn among the prominent female politicians who joined the caucus. It lists her alongside Secretary of State [[Joan Growe]] and State Representative [[Linda Berglin]]. The entry notes that the caucus's male members included [[Mark Dayton]], and it calls the caucus "the first party-affiliated caucus in the US."[^5] The caucus adopted thirteen principles, including support for *Roe v. Wade* and for "economic justice for women at home and in the work force." It endorsed only candidates who backed all thirteen.[^5][^6] MNopedia records several outputs of the caucus: - In 1977 it lobbied for a bill guaranteeing rights to displaced homemakers. - In 1979 it secured $3 million for Minnesota's first battered women's shelter. - In 1978 it failed to stop a bill, sponsored by DFL legislators Ray Kempe and Florian Chemielewski, that ended funding of abortion services for poor women.[^5] The entry does not record Kahn's part in any of these measures.[^5] A March 28, 2006 tribute in the *Congressional Record* honors caucus founder Koryne Horbal. It lists [[Pay equity]] among the issues she worked on. It also reports Horbal's account that Minnesota had one female legislator when she entered politics and 17 when she left the state chairmanship.[^12] ## When Kahn was first elected in 1972 and held her seat without interruption until January 2017.[^13][^1] Most sources give the same dates. Wikipedia and the Legislative Reference Library claim row CL-10 give an end date of January 2017 (1973–2017), which this article follows. A second Library profile row (S-7934) gives her service as 1973–2018.[^14] In the August 2016 District 60B primary, Kahn placed third of three candidates. As a result, she was not on the November 2016 ballot.[^13] The caucus Kahn joined was formed in April 1973. Accounts of its founding differ: - MNopedia names Horbal and five other "founding mothers," and attributes the founding to frustration with the DFL Women's Caucus.[^5] - MinnPost's 2024 republication of the MNopedia text lists six others, adding Mary Peek. It cites frustration with both the DFL Women's Caucus and the non-partisan [[Minnesota Women's Political Caucus]].[^6] That caucus had been formed in August 1971.[^15] - A 2017 St. Paul Pioneer Press obituary of Horbal says she and four other women founded the caucus.[^16] ## Where Kahn represented Minneapolis districts throughout her House career, the last being District 60B.[^2][^13] She lives on Nicollet Island. There she led opposition to DeLaSalle High School's plan to build an athletic field on its island campus, and the school was ultimately permitted to build it.[^17] ## How many - Years in the Minnesota House: 44.[^2][^4] - Finish in the August 2016 DFL primary for District 60B: third of three candidates.[^13] - Principles adopted by the DFL Feminist Caucus she joined: thirteen.[^5] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Phyllis Kahn, DFL member of the Minnesota House for Minneapolis, 1973–2017.[^1][^3] - Ilhan Omar, who defeated Kahn in the DFL primary for District 60B in 2016.[^4] ### When - November 8, 2016: Omar was elected to the Minnesota House for District 60B, having defeated the 44-year incumbent Kahn in the DFL primary.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Phyllis Kahn* legislator profile (id=10612), as recorded in the project's validated claim:link row CL-10 — Minnesota House, DFL, 1973–2017; Ph.D. in biophysics, Yale; principal author of the Pay Equity Act of 1982; row filed under the project's Theory 1. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10612 [^2]: Wikipedia, *Phyllis Kahn* (rev. 1378282932, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead — born March 23, 1937; DFL; represented portions of Minneapolis for 44 years; defeated by Ilhan Omar in the August 9, 2016 DFL primary for District 60B. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kahn [^3]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Phyllis Kahn* legislator record (id=10302), claim:link row S-5280 — Library entry for Kahn as a Minnesota legislator. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10302 [^4]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, via project Time Table row TL-0855 (2016, Nov. 8) — Omar elected to the Minnesota House, District 60B, after defeating 44-year incumbent Phyllis Kahn in the DFL primary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^5]: Minnesota Historical Society, MNopedia, Cory Haala, *DFL Feminist Caucus* (first published April 23, 2018; last modified April 22, 2025) — founded April 1973 by Horbal and five other founders; Kahn among members; "first party-affiliated caucus in the US"; thirteen principles; 1977, 1978 and 1979 outputs. https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/group/dfl-feminist-caucus [^6]: MinnPost (republished from MNopedia), Cory Haala, *The formation of the DFL Party Feminist Caucus* (March 18, 2024) — April 1973 founding by Horbal and six others, including Mary Peek; frustration with the DFL Women's Caucus and the Minnesota Women's Political Caucus; Kahn among members; thirteen principles. https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2024/03/the-formation-of-the-dfl-party-feminist-caucus/ [^7]: Wikipedia, *Phyllis Kahn* (rev. 1378282932), "Education and career" — B.A. in physics, Cornell; Ph.D. in biophysics, Yale; M.P.A., Harvard; retired professor of biophysics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kahn [^8]: Wikipedia, *Phyllis Kahn* (rev. 1378282932), "Personal life" — 2004 theft charge for removing Republican campaign literature from doorsteps; guilty plea; $200 fine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kahn [^9]: Wikipedia, *Phyllis Kahn* (rev. 1378282932), "Political career" — chief author and advocate of the 1975 Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act; used as a template for later legislation; updated and expanded in 2005. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kahn [^10]: Wikipedia, *Phyllis Kahn* (rev. 1378282932), "Political career" — 1989 proposal to lower the voting age to 12, with quoted statement; repeated advocacy for repeal of Sunday liquor-sale "blue laws." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kahn [^11]: Wikipedia, *Phyllis Kahn* (rev. 1378282932), "Political career" — 2003 bill to repeal the first-cousin marriage ban died in committee; response of Republican Minority Leader Marty Seifert. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kahn [^12]: U.S. Congress, *Congressional Record — Extensions of Remarks*, vol. 152, p. E426 (March 28, 2006) — tribute to Koryne Horbal, founder of the DFL Feminist Caucus; pay equity among her issues; one female Minnesota legislator when she began and 17 when she stepped down as state chairwoman. https://www.govinfo.gov/link/crec/152/E/426 [^13]: Wikipedia, *Phyllis Kahn* (rev. 1378282932), "Minnesota House of Representatives" — first elected 1972; served continuously until January 2017; third of three candidates in the August 2016 District 60B primary; not on the November 2016 ballot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kahn [^14]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Phyllis Kahn, Minnesota House (DFL-Minneapolis), 1973–2018* (id=10223), claim:link row S-7934 — legislative record and biographical profile; gives service as 1973–2018. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10223 [^15]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Minnesota Women's Political Caucus: An Inventory of Its Records* (finding aid) — the caucus was formed in August 1971. https://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00388.xml [^16]: St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Brainerd Dispatch), Nick Woldman, *Feminist pioneer Horbal dead at 80* (May 18, 2017) — Horbal and four other women founded the DFL Feminist Caucus in 1973. https://www.brainerddispatch.com/news/feminist-pioneer-horbal-dead-at-80 [^17]: Wikipedia, *Phyllis Kahn* (rev. 1378282932), "Personal life" — resides on Nicollet Island; leading opponent of DeLaSalle High School's athletic field; the school was allowed to build it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kahn