Blakeman sworn in as county executive as he mounts bid for governor

Republican Bruce Blakeman vowed to govern and listen to younger constituents in his second term as he was sworn in as Nassau's 10th county executive Monday night, in a ceremony that hinted at his bid to be governor of the state. 

His wife, Segal Blakeman, a family court judge, administered the oath of office.

Four years after an underdog, first-term win as county executive in 2021, Blakeman, 70, of Atlantic Beach, defeated Democrat Seth Koslow, a former legislator from Merrick, by about 35,000 votes last November and has since soared to the top of statewide Republican politics. 

In brief remarks,  Blakeman thanked donors and supporters, recounted some first-term policy decisions and economic achievements while touting his reelection win, p ropelled by thousands of the county's swing voters — a strategy he is hoping to use as he mounts a bid for governor this year.

"I was blessed to receive so many votes," he said before hundreds of attendees under the glass atrium of the county-owned Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale. "I believe in the people of Nassau County. It's not the elected officials, its the people. Politicians would be wise to listen to their constituents, especially the younger constituents."

The event included the second swearing-in for county Comptroller Elaine Philips and the sixth for county Clerk Maureen O'Connell, both Republicans reelected on the same slate as Blakeman.

More than 900 people had RSVP'd to the event, though it's unclear how many attended. In a show of the county's Republican political control, the leaders of Nassau's three towns — Oyster Bay, Hempstead and North Hempstead — sat prominently on stage along with the county's Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo. Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino gave opening and closing remarks.

The event was held on the eve of Gov. Kathy Hochul's State of the State address on Tuesday.

With undertones of a campaign rally, attendees on several occasions rose from their seats applauding to campaign talking points.    

Cairo, in his speech, dropped several references to higher office and likened Blakeman to Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. President who maintained a home, Sagamore Hill, in Oyster Bay.

"There was Teddy from Oyster Bay and there was Bruce from Valley Stream," Cairo said, referring to Cairo's hometown.

After taking the oath, Blakeman signed into law a bill passed last month by the county legislature prohibiting protesters from coming within 10 feet of someone entering or leaving a religious site. 

During his first term, Blakeman, released on-time budgets, paid down debts and oversaw the county during bond-rating upgrades validating its creditworthiness.

He also kept the property tax rolls frozen, which experts have said could create uncertainty and unfairness in the system, as well as failed to bring about two major development proposals — a $6 billion casino and resort at the Nassau Coliseum site and a $3 billion medical center on the campus of Nassau Community College.

Nassau County Legislature's eight-member Democratic caucus did not attend in protest. The relationship between Democrats on the legislature and the Blakeman administration grew acrimonious during his first term over policy decisions and a underfunding of infrastructure projects in Democratic-led districts.

Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) said too often Blakeman sidelined the legislative branch, cutting them out of negotiations.

"It's hard to celebrate bipartisanship when the county executive is withholding millions in first-responder funding from Democratic districts while telling the rest of the state he works with us. That doesn't add up."

In January 2022, Legis. Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview) represented the caucus amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. 

Blakeman, a former Hempstead Town councilman and the first presiding officer of Nassau's legislature, tacked further right than in his previous political tenures by supporting President Donald Trump's MAGA movement and wading into national "culture war" debates over face masks, transgender participation in sports and criminal justice reforms.

Rumored to have been positioning himself for a statewide run before launching his county executive reelection campaign, Blakeman declared his gubernatorial candidacy on Dec. 9, 2025. He gained the support of state GOP leaders 10 days later after fellow Republican Elise Stefanik's abrupt exit from the race. Stefanik, a congresswoman from the Albany area, announced the Friday before Christmas that she would suspend her gubernatorial campaign and not seek reelection to Congress.

Next month, state Republican committee leaders are expected to return to the nearby Garden City Hotel for the party's state convention Feb. 9-11 and declare Blakeman their candidate in the 2026 governor's race.

Blakeman is expected to give a State of the County address in a few weeks when he is likely to map out second-term priorities. He was also mindful of the time he spends campaigning throughout the state.

"I'm on a journey, I don't know where that path will end," said Blakeman, presumptive Republican nominee to challenge Hochul, a Democrat, this November. "Wherever I travel, whatever I do, my heart will always be in Nassau County." 

"Albany!" shouted WABC radio personality Sid Rosenberg, who was in attendance. 

"Right on cue, Sid," Blakeman said. 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.