Blakeman turns to issue of affordability in his bid for governor

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman spent Monday evening touting President Donald Trump’s efforts to tackle the nation’s affordability crisis, an issue that’s become central to his campaign for New York governor.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined Blakeman on Monday in Mineola for a panel event alongside eight other speakers that included Harry Singh, the billionaire founder of Bolla Market and one of Blakeman’s biggest donors.

The panelists praised Trump’s policies geared toward working-class Americans, such as no tax on tips, and no federal tax on overtime pay, two key provisions that have contributed to what Blakeman characterized as "the biggest tax cut in the history of America."

Bessent also credited the President with the creation of Trump Accounts, a program awarding $1,000 invested in the stock market to every newborn who can then access the investment when they turn 18.

"I think these Trump Accounts may end up being his great legacy," Bessent said. "When they start maturing in 18 years ... everyone is going to have a share of the pie."

Earlier on Monday in an appearance on Fox News, Bessent said that tax refunds this season are up 10% from last year, with half of tax filers nationwide claiming new deductions under a Republican tax cut law. A quarter of tax filers are claiming deductions for overtime pay they earned last year, he added.

In Mineola on Monday, Bessent also took aim at Democrat-led states like New York for not joining Trump’s efforts to deregulate energy.

"The problem in Albany is you all pay 50% more than the rest of the country does for electricity and energy ... By deregulating, it’ll make it easier to do business ... and you could stop the stampede of people leaving the state," he said.

The affordability crisis has driven hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders to leave New York. Nassau and Suffolk counties make up 7 of the top 13 most expensive places to live in the state, with parts of Oyster Bay squeezing residents to spend at least $10,000 a month on necessities alone.

While Long Islanders say they have a higher quality of life than other parts of the state, 77% of residents surveyed last year said overall affordability has gotten worse, Newsday previously reported.

Since the start of the Iran war, gas prices have skyrocketed nationwide and mortgage rates have crept up, with financial experts warning the U.S. could enter a recession within the next year. It’s something Bessent addressed in his Fox News appearance, saying the U.S. would eventually retake control of the Strait of Hormuz, among the world’s most important oil chokepoints, which moves about 20 million barrels of oil per day.

Nassau County Minority Leader Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) pinned increased living costs for Nassau residents on the Trump administration.

"Nassau residents aren’t stupid — they feel the squeeze every time they fill up, check out at the grocery store, or pay a bill. The cost-of-living crisis is real, and it’s being driven directly by the disastrous tariffs and global instability coming from the same out-of-touch allies in Washington he continues to stand with."

Affordability has been a central issue to Blakeman’s messaging in his bid to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul. In campaign ads, he has touted his record of keeping Nassau taxes flat over the past four years, and promised to make people’s primary homes, small businesses and family-owned farms exempt from estate taxes.

Earlier in the day at a campaign event outside New York City Hall, Blakeman promised that as governor he'd stop the tax increases proposed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who ran on a platform of taxing the wealthy to fund social programs.

Blakeman said he'd use the state budget process or get a law passed to stop Mamdani, who last month threatened to raise the city property tax, one of the few taxes the city can raise without Albany's consent. Mamdani has also proposed increasing the state tax.

Though Hochul has ruled out raising taxes, and the speaker of the New York City Council, which must greenlight any property tax increase, has also said no, Blakeman says Hochul can't be trusted to keep her word.

He pointed to her decision to pause congestion pricing in Manhattan during June 2024, which she defended then by citing New York's affordability crisis. 

Newsday's Matthew Chayes contributed to this story.