Bruce Blakeman touts flat taxes and ICE arrests in 2026 State of the County address

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman delivered his State of the County address in Mineola on Monday evening, touting new law enforcement hires, a recent law limiting protests outside religious sites and his partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Several hundred people attended the speech at the legislative chambers, standing to clap to the beat of Blakeman’s favorite walk-up song, "The Business" by Tiësto, as he took the stage.

In the roughly 22-minute speech, Blakeman did not announce any major policy plans for the remainder of his term as county executive. He is four months into a campaign to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Just after 6 p.m., Blakeman began his remarks with a moment of silence for Nassau Police Officer Patricia Espinosa, who was killed by an alleged drunken driver last month, and school crossing guard John Miro, who was killed by a driver allegedly impaired by drugs. Blakeman also held a moment of silence for U.S. military personnel killed in the war with Iran.

A major theme in Blakeman's address was public safety, highlighting an effort to hire more police and correction officers.

"Under my administration, our number of law enforcement professionals continues to grow," Blakeman said. "I have authorized the hiring of 600 new police and correction officers during my tenure, with plans to hire more in the coming years."

It’s a claim deemed empty by county Democrats, who have repeatedly claimed Blakeman's hiring efforts haven't offset attrition. A review of Nassau County's Open Payroll portal shows the number of employees at the police and corrections departments has dropped since Blakeman's tenure.

Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder estimated nearly 200 police officers would retire from the force of 2,500 sworn officers by early March as part of an early retirement initiative. "In the next three weeks, the whole department will be completely changed," Ryder previously told Newsday, assuring that the department was prepared with a class of 100 recruits expected to graduate soon.

Among Blakeman’s headline-grabbing moves since taking office in 2022 was his decision to partner with ICE shortly after President Donald Trump began his second term. He rented 50 county jail cells in East Meadow to the federal agency to hold immigrants, and authorized 10 Nassau police detectives to work as immigration agents.

"All arrests are targeted toward removing criminals," Blakeman said.

But Newsday has reported that Nassau officials jailed more immigrants with no criminal history than those who do. More than 2,600 immigrants were held in ICE custody last year at the Nassau County Correctional Center.

Blakeman also spoke about the county’s social services efforts. Officials converted "the run-down and crime-ridden Long Beach Motor Inn," he said, transferring the deed to Tunnel to Towers to convert the space into 50 homes for veterans, first responders and families who’ve lost a loved one in military combat. (Blakeman's brother Brad is a board member of Tunnel to Towers.)

Highlighting his goal of not raising Nassau taxes, Blakeman said, "I have not raised taxes one penny in four years, and they will not be raised this year as well."

One of his first moves within minutes of being sworn into his second term this year was signing a law limiting protests outside religious sites across the county.

"I recently signed a law preventing protesters from targeting churches, synagogues, mosques, and other houses of worship," Blakeman said.

The bill was introduced following a controversial protest last year outside a prominent Manhattan synagogue against Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Blakeman also reminded constituents about several executive orders he introduced in his first term, such as barring transgender athletes from playing on women’s and girls’ sports teams on county property.

Along the same line of culture war issues, Blakeman described himself as a "staunch ally in the fight to keep Massapequa ‘the Chiefs’ and Wantagh ‘the Warriors’ ” — resisting a state ban on Native American sports mascots at public schools.

A federal judge ruled against Massapequa, Wantagh and two other Long Island school districts fighting to challenge the state ban. Massapequa filed an amended complaint last year. The Wantagh school district has until June 30, 2027, to comply with the ban on mascots and related imagery.

In the Democrats’ rebuttal, Nassau County Minority Leader Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) took aim at Blakeman’s run for governor while serving local office, calling him "one of the most partisan elected officials I have ever dealt with."

"He ignores requests from the Democratic Caucus to meet on critical issues, like fixing aging roads and sewers, and improving our parks," she wrote in remarks shared with Newsday.

"During Blakeman’s last campaign, he promised that his only focus was serving the people of Nassau County. Literally the day after being reelected, he began talking about running for governor," DeRiggi-Whitton continued.

She also attacked his special deputies program, a group of gun-licensed Nassau residents who Blakeman has said he enlisted to step up in case of an emergency.

It was revealed in court documents last week that four members of the program had arrest records or warrants issued for their arrest. The documents were made public as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought on by two Democratic county legislators.

"Compare his promises to what he has actually done. You will see the gap between rhetoric and reality, and how politics comes before public service," DeRiggi-Whitton wrote. "Nassau County residents deserve leadership that is focused on their needs — not personal ambition."