On November 2, 2021, Bruce Blakeman was elected Nassau County Executive. Since taking office, County Executive Blakeman’s top priority has been protecting your wallet and saving you money. The County Executive kept his promise to eliminate $150 million in tax hikes planned by the prior administration and implement fiscal restraints that helped earn Nassau County multiple upgrades from Wall Street credit rating agencies. This means taxpayers save money each time the County bonds for road repaving and infrastructure improvement projects.
With Cashless Bail Laws and the National Border Crisis greatly impacting our region, County Executive Blakeman has sworn in over 200 new police officers, added more funds to increase the number of cops on our streets, and broke ground for a new police training village - all without raising taxes. The Nassau County Police Department now has the resources needed to continue fighting back against dangerous ‘criminal first’ policies approved by Albany lawmakers. Blakeman also launched Operation Overwatch, a roving patrol unit of police cars, to serve as a crime deterrent and respond swiftly should an incident occur. While crime is soaring in New York City, major crime in Nassau County is down thanks to intelligence-led policing strategies and financial investments in police.
When it comes to combatting crazy progressive policies, Bruce Blakeman has never backed down from the fight for common-sense. County Executive Blakeman signed an Executive Order to ensure Nassau never becomes a Sanctuary County nor spends your tax dollars on services for non-citizens. Under County Executive Blakeman’s watch, no migrant buses have come into Nassau County. Mr. Blakeman continues to fight for Nassau County residents. He is pushing for our fair share of school and road repaving funds from Albany, as recent reports from the Regional Planning Council indicate that Long Island sends $14 billion more in taxpayer funds to Albany than we get back. Most disturbingly, Nassau County school districts are losing State funding while the Governor’s budget earmarks $2.4 billion of your tax money for housing and legal aid services for migrants entering our nation illegally.
County Executive Bruce Blakeman is no stranger to the fight for parent rights in education. He signed New York State’s first Executive Order to restore the rights of parents to send their children to school without masks. A champion for the rights of women and girls to compete in sporting events in female leagues without biological males bullying their way onto those teams, Bruce Blakeman signed an Executive Order to protect women’s sports.
Standing in the face of evil, County Executive Blakeman organized the region’s largest rally in support of the state of Israel by bringing over 6,000 people together to stand against terrorism. He also formed a bi-partisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism on Long Island. Tackling societal problems, the County Executive also invested millions into battling illegal drugs and addiction. He is focused on keeping families whole and saving lives through increased awareness, education, enforcement programs and recovery programs.
As Hempstead Town Councilman from 2015 to 2021, Bruce Blakeman voted to cut property taxes multiple years in a row and approved budgets that earned the Town of Hempstead among the highest Wall Street credit ratings available. To protect taxpayer money and safeguard against wrongdoing, Blakeman championed laws to create the Town’s first-ever Compliance Officer and hired a former Federal prosecutor to serve as Town Attorney. Mr. Blakeman has led efforts to combat anti-Semitism and passed landmark legislation to ensure that the Town of Hempstead no longer does business with any entity that bans, divests, and/or sanctions the state of Israel. To prevent the spread of drugs in our neighborhoods, Bruce strengthened local quality of life laws and serves on the board of a non-profit organization that offers drug and alcohol addiction counseling.
Appointed by the Governor of New York, Bruce Blakeman previously served as a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the aftermath of 9/11, where he fought to secure our airports, bridges, tunnels, ports, and facilities across the metropolitan area. As Executive Director of the New York Police Chiefs Benevolent Association, a member of the Crime Stoppers Board, New York COPS Foundation, and Deputy Counsel to the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Foundation, Blakeman has worked with our police, not against them. He will always back our law enforcement and the policies needed to keep our communities safe.
A former Presiding Officer of the County Legislature, Bruce Blakeman has never been afraid to stand up against politicians, even those in his own political party, to do what is best for taxpayers. In fact, Bruce slashed $40 million in excessive spending and reduced salaries of political appointees in the budget of a former Republican County Executive. While serving on the County Legislature, Blakeman also preserved open space, directed critical funding toward downtown business district improvements throughout Nassau County, and established a life-saving breast cancer resource center named Hewlett House.
Beyond elected office, Blakeman is an attorney who is admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court, New York and New Jersey courts, the United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, and the United States District Courts, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Mr. Blakeman is a graduate of California Western Law School and Arizona State University. Bruce was born in Oceanside, raised in Valley Stream and currently resides in Atlantic Beach with his wife, Segal.