Saturday, October 17, 2026
Anthony Capone has spent much of his life in the communities he now hopes to represent in the Nassau County Legislature.
Capone, 31, grew up in Valley Stream, attended Valley Stream South High School and has been a volunteer firefighter for 15 years. He became the Valley Stream Fire Department’s 100th chief, while also building a career in his family’s auto body business.
After living in Lynbrook for the past decade, Capone recently returned to Valley Stream with his growing family. He has a 15-month-old son and another child on the way. The Republican and Conservative candidate is challenging incumbent Democratic Legislator Cynthia Nuñez.
Capone said his time in the fire service strengthened his interest in public service and led him to consider elected office. “I’m not a career politician by any means,” he said. “I’m here because I believe in my community.”
Capone has given back to the communities that have supported him through volunteering, which he hopes to expand if he is elected. “I think the community always believed in me, and that’s why I found a lot of success,” he said. “I try to give back to the community as much as I possibly can.”
Public safety is among Capone’s top priorities. Drawing on his experience working among first responders, he said he wants to ensure that police and fire departments have adequate staffing and resources without having to turn to taxpayers for additional funding. He described that approach as doing more with less, something he said he has applied in both the Fire Separtment and his family’s North Star Auto Body business.
After high school, Capone said, he learned the business from the ground up, working in different areas of the shop before eventually overseeing operations. The business grew from one location to five, and the experience, he said, taught him how to build partnerships and help turn around struggling operations.
He has also worked with small businesses on promotions tied to District 14, including 14 percent discounts intended to attract customers on slower days. Capone said he hopes to build on those efforts.
Affordability is another of his priorities. Although he said Nassau County is in strong financial shape, he believes legislators should continually review spending for potential savings. “Being in very good health doesn’t mean that you stop exercising,” he said. “You’re only in good health today, but I’m going to still go to the gym tomorrow.”
Capone also said he wants to invest in infrastructure and workforce programs that connect residents with stable careers. He pointed to job-training programs for people who have faced incarceration, substance-use problems or other challenges as an example of how he believes government can help residents become financially self-sufficient.
He said he would be willing to work with legislators across party lines. “It’s OK for people to disagree,” he said. “If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. If I’m right, then let’s have a conversation and try to figure it out.”
Capone said that political rhetoric, particularly on social media, can sometimes make those disagreements harder to resolve. “Having a meeting and going out for a cup of coffee and sitting down and getting lunch, you could probably solve 90 percent of the problems,” he said.
For Capone, that approach comes back to what he said his focus would be as a legislator. “I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on,” he said. “Let’s come up with a good solution and make sure we get the right outcome for the residents.”
