You probably know Cynthia Nixon as Miranda from the hit HBO series Sex and the City. But there’s a chance she might one day be best known as the governor of New York.
The actress and activist just announced her campaign to run against incumbent Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the Democratic primary.
I love New York, and today I'm announcing my candidacy for governor. Join us: https://t.co/9DwsxWW8xX pic.twitter.com/kYTvx6GZiD
— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) March 19, 2018
Nixon’s not Jewish, but she’s basically an honorary member of the tribe. She’s an active member of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, Manhattan’s most prominent LGBTQ synagogue — she even gave a Shabbat sermon on the day that same-sex marriage became legal in New York state in 2011.
Same-sex marriage is an issue dear to Nixon’s heart: She married education activist Christine Marinoni in 2012 after her divorce from her husband Danny Mozes.
During her speech, she said:
Of course, any time there’s progress, it always comes with a backlash, and the bigger the step forward, the bigger the backlash, which brings us to this week’s parsha.
It’s hard to imagine a time when they’ve been closer to the fulfillment of everything God has promised them when boom, backlash! It is good to remember backlashes are nothing new. Even Moses and Aaron had to go through them.
Mozes is Jewish, and their two children (Samantha and Charles Ezekiel) were bar- and bat-mitzvahed. (Nixon and Marinoni also have a son, Max Ellington.)
Nixon is passionate about paying it forward. She has hosted events like the 10-year anniversary gala of T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization, and participated in a campaign to advance legislation protecting international women’s rights in conjunction with the American Jewish World Service.
You can watch her 2011 speech here:
