Annie Ackerman

Anne Ackerman (January 28, 1914 – March 1, 1989) was an American political activist. After retiring to Florida in 1969, Ackerman organized thousands of residents of condominiums near where she lived into a politically active group. Condominium residents turned out at very high rates and were recognized as a powerful force in the state's politics: politicians running for local and national office sought Ackerman's endorsement.

She moved to North Miami, Florida, from Chicago, where she had been a member of the B'nai B'rith Jewish service organization and active in local politics. Ackerman used her influence to advocate for a number of issues in Miami-Dade County, including gun regulation, rapid-transit, and an ordinance banning phosphates in detergent. Many of the 2,000 residents of the Point East condominium complex where she lived followed her voting advice, turning out at rates that ranked among the state's highest. Ackerman remained active as she struggled with cancer, returning to work after a 1986 stroke and as late as 1988, at which point she was bedridden. She died early the following year

Ackerman was recognized as a powerful figure in local and state politics: she became known as the "condo queen" or "condo commando" for her influence. In 1986 she was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame, and the following year a stretch of Biscayne Boulevard was named in her honor.

Anne Gdalman was born on January 28, 1914. Her parents were Jewish emigrés from Russia, having left in their teenage years (her mother was fourteen and her father nineteen). While her father had studied the Talmud in Russia, in the US he worked in the garment industry. Gdalman had four brothers, including Louis Gdalman. She remained a practicing member of the Jewish faith throughout her life. Gdalman grew up in Chicago, and reported becoming politically active at a very young age, participating in a strike with her father when she was five years old.

She married Irving Ackerman, an insurance worker, around 1934. She gathered information on the Nazi German American Bund in World War II for a Jewish organization. Ackerman later volunteered for Richard M. Daley, who was Mayor of Chicago, working as a ward organizer. Saul Alinsky was described as one of her mentors. When Alvin Freeman ran for congress against Charles Boyle Ackerman was in charge of his "women's division". In 1963 she ran for a spot as alderman from Chicago's 50th district, but had withdrawn by February.

Ackerman was also an active member of the B'nai B'rith Jewish service organization, co-founding and serving as president of the Haym Solomon Chapter of B'nai B'rith Women. In 1944, she was president of the B'nai B'rith Women Chicago Council, and in 1950 held a term as president of District No. 6 of B'nai B'rith Women. Ten years later she spent a year as president of the national Conference of Jewish Women's Organizations. Ackerman became known for her book reviews and presentations on Jewish books.

In 1969, Ackerman moved to Florida with her husband, retiring in the Point East condominium in North Miami Beach, Florida, a complex of condominiums with about 2,000 inhabitants. Noting the lack of political organization in Point East, Ackerman formed and led an association aimed at advocating on behalf of condo residents.

Ackerman and her friend Mollie Lovinger first became politically active in the 1970s in response to water pollution in Miami-Dade County. Lovinger had read a newspaper article about the potential negative effects of phosphates and untreated sewage on the region's water, and the two resolved to advocate for restrictions to preserve water quality. They created an advocacy group of retirees known as the "Pollution Revolution". Its structure was modeled after an army, with Lovinger the 'general', Ackerman the 'colonel', four majors, a 'captain' assigned to each of the seventeen condominium buildings in Point East, and a 'lieutenant' for each floor.