By Hank Russell
Nassau County Legislator Seth Koslow (D-Merrick), the Democratic candidate for Nassau County Executive running against Republican incumbent Bruce Blakeman, unveiled a five-point “Plan for Nassau” during a press conference on April 11. Koslow said his plan is a comprehensive roadmap to fix what’s broken in county government, slash wasteful spending, and deliver real results for Nassau families.
Koslow’s plan includes measures to cut taxes, strengthen law enforcement to protect our families, fix the broken property tax assessment system, and improve quality of life across every neighborhood — without playing politics, Koslow said.
“We all know the truth — under Blakeman, crime is up and taxes are up. Because for too long, our county government has operated like an ATM for political insiders,” said Koslow. “This plan is about flipping that script — cutting the waste, funding what actually matters, and restoring trust in public service.”
Koslow’s plan to get rid of government waste includes undertaking a complete audit of all political jobs, eliminating all unnecessary political jobs and cutting outside attorney fees by at least 75%, which, he said, would save $15 million annually. He also seeks to undertake an audit of all contracts, ensure an open-bidding process, repossess & sell off all non-essential county cars.
On the subject of public safety, Koslow’s plan consists of bringing the Nassau Detective unit up to full strength, increasing the overall Nassau Police Department headcount by 10%, increasing funding for police by reducing overtime and improving efficiencies and introducing the latest technologies to high-crime neighborhoods. He also proposed increasing neighborhood patrols and protections for houses of worship and eliminating Bruce Blakeman’s militia, which he called “nonsensical.”
Koslow also proposed replacing the assessment system, which he said is “failed.” This includes transferring assessment responsibilities to the towns and cities for fairer valuations and funding the decentralization through the elimination of existing county departments. He also calls for making challenging assessment simpler to help eliminate the need for lawyers and fighting for a state law to limit tax attorney fees to no more than 25% of refunds.
In addressing quality-of-life issues, Koslow said he plans to have the roads fixed and create a web-based hotline for reporting potholes. He also seeks to lower or eliminate onerous fees that he says are simply another tax on residents and establish an Entrepreneurial Ombudsman to cut business red tape and approval times, which he said will bring businesses to Nassau, creating jobs and tax revenues. He said he wants to depoliticize the allocation process for communities and the funding, curricula and operations of Nassau County Community College.
Lastly, Koslow promised to establish a Nassau Master Plan Commission and a Climate Threat Assessment Commission and create a web-based hotline for reporting flooding. He is also looking to work with Suffolk County and local volunteer fire departments to develop wildfire fighting plans and seek federal infrastructure funding to bury overhead power lines and protect the grid.
“This isn’t just a to-do list—it’s a declaration that Nassau families deserve better. We’re putting residents before politics, safety before stunts, and results before rhetoric,” Koslow said.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to Blakeman’s office, but did not hear back as of press time.