Blakeman and Koslow make pitch to voters in televised debate for Nassau County executive seat

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman went head to head in a televised debate Wednesday night with Legis. Seth Koslow, his Democratic opponent in next month’s election — taking shots at each other’s positions on public safety, immigration enforcement and managing the county’s finances.

The debate, which aired on News 12 Long Island, also touched on issues including the economy, political civility, local elections and county control of Nassau University Medical Center.

Blakeman, 70, grew up in Valley Stream and was elected in 2021 after holding various political seats, such as Hempstead councilmember, presiding officer of the county’s legislature and Port Authority board member. He is running on the Republican and Conservative lines and defeated Laura Curran in 2021 by 2,150 votes.

 “Four years ago I made you a promise that I would make Nassau County more affordable and safer, and I’ve kept my promise. I haven’t raised taxes one penny in four years,” Blakeman said. 

Koslow, 43, was elected in 2023 as a county legislator representing Merrick, Freeport, parts of North Merrick and North Bellmore. He served as a prosecutor in Queens and now works as a defense attorney handling criminal defense and traffic court cases. He is running on the Democratic and Moderate lines.

 “I grew up here in Nassau County. I’m a father, I’m a husband, I’m a coach, I’m a small business owner, I’m a former prosecutor and I’m a legislator. I got into politics to try to do something for my community,” Koslow said. 

Attack ads

The debate began with controversy surrounding a campaign ad accusing Koslow of condoning rape. The ads have flooded the homes of Nassau voters, showing Koslow standing over an empty bed and beside black-and-white images of distressed women in tears, describing him as "sick and twisted."

The accusation stems from an academic paper Koslow wrote in law school for the 2013 Touro Law Review, arguing that certain social media posts should be admissible as evidence in court in rape cases.

"How bad does [Blakeman’s] record have to be for him to base his entire campaign going after me for a research paper?" Koslow said Wednesday night. "He should be ashamed of himself."

Blakeman doubled down on Wednesday, calling Koslow "disturbing" and slamming his work as a criminal defense attorney. "He makes a living getting people out of jail," Blakeman said.

Koslow snapped back, saying, "There is a process in our country where you have a right to a defense."

"That’s how our system works," Koslow added while sarcastically referring to Blakeman as "Mr. Trump" (Blakeman is a close ally of President Donald Trump).

The controversy surrounding the campaign heated up Wednesday when it was revealed that a Nassau County employee sent a mass email asking female staff to show up to Monday’s legislature meeting wearing red. There, they accused Koslow of believing women want to be raped.

Immigration

An audience member Wednesday night asked both candidates about how they would protect law-abiding, taxpaying immigrants from being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Blakeman touted his partnership with ICE, which he launched in February to help enact Trump’s mass deportation plan by setting aside 50 local jail cells for the federal agency.

"I have the overwhelming support of the Hispanic American community," Blakeman said, detailing the arrests of various undocumented criminals and calling Koslow "pro-criminal."

Koslow replied, "People are afraid of this [program] ... They’re afraid of what ICE is doing.

"Let me be clear: I don’t want violent criminals in my county, whether they’re documented or not," he added.

 Special deputies program

About halfway through Wednesday’s debate, the topic was raised of Blakeman’s special deputies program, a group of gun-licensed volunteers in Nassau County he enlisted to work as first responders in case of an emergency.

Blakeman defended the initiative, saying Superstorm Sandy prompted him to it.

"We did not have enough resources to deal with that catastrophe," Blakeman said.

Democrats, who say Blakeman acted illegally in creating the program, are suing him over it.

“You’re breaking the law,” Koslow said to Blakeman on Wednesday. “Who’s responsible if they are activated and they shoot somebody?” 

Transgender athletes

Blakeman has made headlines over the years for spearheading culture-war issues, like barring transgender athletes from playing on girls and women’s sports teams on county property. New York Attorney General Letitia James and the New York Civil Liberties Union are suing Blakeman over the ban.

"Bruce Blakeman is trying to marginalize a group of people when there are no examples of any issues in Nassau County," Koslow said. "He’s doing nothing but making a headline out of it."

An appeals court earlier this month halted enforcement of Nassau’s ban, just days after a lower court in Nassau ruled in favor of the ban.

Blakeman on Wednesday night defended his policy, saying, "In Nassau County, boys play with boys and girls play with girls."

 Final pleas

After the hourlong debate drew to a close, Blakeman and Koslow made their final pleas to voters.

“We live in this community because we love the fact that we have a safe community, that we have an affordable community, that people want to live here,” Blakeman said. “I think that you want another term with me as your county executive.”

For his part, Koslow accused Blakeman of enriching himself with taxpayer money, slammed him for being unwilling to work with Gov. Kathy Hochul and compared him to former County Executive Edward Mangano, who is in federal prison for accepting bribes and kickbacks.

“This is corruption like we’ve never seen before,” Koslow said.

“As an elected official, we don’t get to choose who we work with … I am prepared to work with whoever is in office to do what’s best for this county. I don’t want to work against them just because I don’t agree with their politics,” Koslow said. “That’s not leadership.”  

Election Day is Nov. 4. There will be nine days of early voting beginning Saturday.