Sunday, February 16, 2025
Nassau County Legislator Seth Koslow has officially launched his campaign for Nassau County executive, pledging to bring accountability, affordability and responsible governance back to the county.
Koslow, a Democrat who represents parts of Freeport, Merrick and Bellmore in the legislature, plans to end the misuse of public funds and focus on policies that benefit Nassau County residents, rather than political agendas.
“This administration has broken their promises and failed Nassau residents,” Koslow said in a Jan. 8 news release. “Nassau County families are being squeezed while their tax dollars are wasted on frivolous lawsuits, inflated salaries, and self-serving political promotions. I’m running to restore trust, eliminate waste, and make our county more affordable for everyone.”
Jay Jacobs, the New York state and Nassau County Democratic Committee chairman, said, “This is an important moment for Nassau County. We need a leader that will put families first, fight for fiscal responsibility, and work tirelessly to keep our communities safe. Seth Koslow has the integrity and vision to lead Nassau County out of the current administration’s incompetence.”
Koslow, 42, grew up in Baldwin, and was first elected to the legislature in 2023 to represent the newly formed 5th District. A former prosecutor in Queens, he’s currently a criminal defense attorney who resides in Merrick with his wife, three children and rescue pup.
“We deserve better,” Koslow told the Herald last week. “As a dad, as a coach, as a family man — living and growing up in Nassau County — I’ve seen Nassau County for the last 40-something years. I’ve seen the good and bad, and I don’t like where we’re going.”
Koslow’s priorities, outlined in his campaign announcement, include making Nassau County more affordable by lowering property taxes and implementing fiscally responsible policies to ease the burden on residents; eliminating waste by ending unnecessary legal battles and reducing oversized administrative expenses to ensure public funds are used effectively; introducing accountability measures to ensure every dollar is spent with residents’ best interests in mind; and strengthening communities by investing in essential services, infrastructure, law enforcement and education to improve the quality of life across Nassau County.
Koslow criticized County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s administration for spending “countless dollars defending lawsuits” because of the county’s transgender ban, which prohibits girls’ and women’s teams with transgender athletes from competing at public facilities; the county’s mask ban, which makes it a crime for those wearing a mask or face covering to hide their identity, except for health or religious reasons; and the county’s plan to form an armed, civilian militia that could operate as a de facto police force during emergencies.
“People in Nassau County are concerned about their money and their affordability — that’s important to them,” Koslow said. “These other issues are not important to them. They may be on a national scale, but that’s not what’s important in local, every day politics.”
Blakeman, a Republican, was elected to the county executive position in 2021.
In response, Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Blakeman, said in a statement, “Bruce Blakeman didn’t raise taxes even after inflation went through the roof, refused to make Nassau a sanctuary county, put more cops on our streets, fought against radical pro-criminal policies and made Nassau the safest county in America. There’s no better choice for county executive than Bruce Blakeman.”
According to Koslow, Nassau County was dubbed “the safest county in America” because of its police force — not because of Blakeman.
“We have a fantastic police force, and I know that they want more police officers,” Koslow said. “We should reinvest in that to make sure we have the safest county in America forever.”
In regards to accountability, Koslow cited the county’s 2025-2028 budget, which was sent back to the drawing board by the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, a public benefit corporation that supervises the county’s finances.
“NIFA kicked back the budget because administration was playing fast and loose with the way they did their accounting and how they accounted for certain funds,” Koslow said. “And if it wasn’t for NIFA demanding that they redo the budget, would that budget have been accurate or would it have been illegal, incorrect, and we’d be in hole next year?”
Koslow said his campaign would be “solution-oriented.”
“We’re all tired of elected officials and candidates pointing out the problems in our communities,” he said. “We all know what the problems are, but no one’s willing to offer solutions. I intend to offer solutions that are real — they may not be the solutions people agree with, but they’re going to be at least solutions I think we can accomplish.”
The election for the county executive seat will take place this November.
