Bruce Blakeman

Bruce Blakeman is an American politician currently serving[1] as the 10th county executive of Nassau County, New York. He was elected in the 2021 election, defeating Democratic incumbent Laura Curran. He previously served as the Commissioner for the New York-New Jersey Port Authority as well as a Nassau County Legislator and Hempstead Town Councilman.

Bruce Blakeman
10th County Executive of Nassau County
Assumed office
January 1, 2022
Preceded byLaura Curran
Hempstead Town Councilman
In office
January 1st, 2015 – December 31st, 2021
In office
January 1st, 1990 – December 31st,1994
Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer
In office
January 1st, 1995 – December 31st, 1999
Personal details
BornValley Stream, New York
Political partyRepublican
Residence(s)Atlantic Beach, New York

In 2010, Blakeman ran for U.S. Senator of the State of New York after Hillary Clinton resigned the seat to become U.S. Secretary of State, which triggered a special election. Governor David Paterson appointed then-Representative Kirsten Gillibrand, who would win the Democratic nomination for the Special Election. Blakeman lost the Republican primary to former Congressman Joe DioGuardi.[2] In 2014, Blakeman ran for the open 4th congressional district, after Democratic U.S. Representative Carolyn McCarthy announced her retirement. He won the Republican Nomination, and went head to head with Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. He lost 53%-47%.[3][4]

Before taking office, Blakeman pledged to fight actions imposed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic, such as the face mask mandate in public school districts and public places, including businesses. On January 6, 2022, he signed an executive order making masks optional. After a Nassau County Supreme Court Justice declared Governor Hochul's mask mandate unconstitutional, Blakeman pushed for all local mandates be made optional. However, the New York Appeals Court declared the mandate constitutional soon thereafter.[5]

Since taking office, County Executive Blakeman signed an Executive Order directing the Nassau County PD to record the number of criminals being released under the Bail Reform law passed under former Governor Andrew Cuomo. He has since been calling for the repeal of such bail reform law, citing statistics showing over 9,000 Nassau criminals being released and committing new crimes once released, as well as the general uptick in middle-of-the-night robberies of people's vehicles.[6]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Blakeman helped conduct a rifle drive which resulted in the collection of 60 rifles for Ukraine.[7]

His father was Assemblyman Robert M. Blakeman. His brother is Brad Blakeman. Blakeman is the first Jewish Nassau County Executive.[8]

References
  1. "County Executive | Nassau County, NY - Official Website".
  2. "2010 United States Senate special election in New York", Wikipedia, 2022-01-20, retrieved 2022-02-03
  3. "Former county legislator announces run for Congress". Herald Community Newspapers. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  4. "2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New York", Wikipedia, 2022-02-03, retrieved 2022-02-03
  5. "NY Mask Mandate to Stay in Place During Appeals Process as Core COVID Rates Plunge". NBC New York. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  6. Pelaez, Robert (2022-01-26). "Executive order allows Nassau Police Department to publish bail status, case information of repeat offenders - Featured". The Island Now. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  7. "NY Official Seeks Gun Donations for Ukraine, but Unclear How Ukrainians Would Get Firearms".
  8. Kornbluh, Jacob. "Interview with Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County's First Jewish Executive, guided by Orthodox tradition". The Forward. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
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