When Patrick Mullaney first took office in Nassau County’s 4th Legislative District nearly two years ago, succeeding longtime Legislator Denise Ford, he admits he didn’t quite know what to expect.
“Having absolutely no experience prior, I really didn’t have a metric to gauge it on,” Mullaney, 50, said with a laugh. “Everything’s been more or less a learning curve.”
Mullaney — who also serves as a special operations lieutenant with the New York City Fire Department — believes he’s stayed true to his core philosophy: to listen.
“I said it two years ago, and I still believe it: I have one job over anything else, and that’s just to listen to people,” the Long Beach resident said. “That doesn’t mean giving everyone what they want, but it means making sure they’re heard.”
Mullaney describes his approach as hands-on and constituent-driven. Much of his daily work, he said, revolves around resolving local concerns — anything from potholes to pension questions.
“People don’t always know where to go — whether it’s a town issue, a county issue, or a state issue,” he said. “So a big part of what we do is help them navigate that. “We’ve been very effective at handling those day-to-day problems.”
A self-described moderate, Mullaney emphasizes practicality over partisanship. “I like to think I’m as middle-of-the-line as you’re going to get,” he said. “Government shouldn’t be a tweet — it should be something people understand.”
Mullaney also chairs the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee, where he’s played a key role in securing resources for law enforcement and first responders.
“We’ve hired more than 300 police officers in the past two years,” he said. “And I’ve been able to help allocate nearly a million dollars for local fire departments — for ambulances, first responder equipment, and SCBAs,” he added, referring to self-contained breathing apparatuses.
Mullaney noted the redevelopment of the long-abandoned Long Beach Motor Inn into a 42-unit veterans’ village operated by Tunnel to Towers.
“It checks all the boxes,” he said. “We’re helping veterans, turning an eyesore into something the community can be proud of, and doing it without adding a financial burden to taxpayers.”
Though upbeat about his work, Mullaney’s expressed disappointment at the low turnout for his community forums. “When you put together a meeting and only six people show up, it’s discouraging,” he acknowledged. “People have become disconnected. I’d like to see more folks take an active role in understanding how government works.”
Looking ahead, Mullaney said he hopes to strengthen that connection — through personal outreach more than social media.
“I’m 50 years old, so my ability to use social media to its full potential is limited,” he joked. “But if I meet you, I’ll give you my cell phone number. That personal connection still matters.”
As for the unusual circumstances of this year’s election — his opponent, Petros Krommidas, remains on the ballot despite being missing since April — Mullaney has deliberately toned down his campaign out of respect for Krommidas’s family.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” he said.
Mullaney said his decision to run came from a simple conviction. “If I say no, then I have no right to complain,” he said. “I was given the opportunity to get involved and maybe change things. If I walk away from that, who am I to sit around and just complain?”
