Seth Koslow, the Democratic nominee for Nassau County executive, called for lowering taxes, investing in law enforcement, establishing fair property taxes, improving affordability, and crafting a plan for the future.
The Nassau County legislator opened his five-point plan for his vision of Nassau County at the Democratic Committee headquarters on April 11 by attacking County Executive Bruce Blakeman, his Republican opponent.
“Nassau families deserve a county government that works for them, not for a few connected few,” Koslow said, “Bruce Blakeman is more focused on auto workers in Detriot than he is about us here in Nassau County.”
Koslow is referring to Blakeman's support of President Donald Trump's tariffs and the incumbent county executuve spending more time in Washington than in his home county.
Koslow called for a complete audit of all political jobs in the county and to eliminate all “unnecessary” jobs. He did not clarify what exactly they are.
He vowed to cut outside attorney fees by at least 75 percent, which he said could save $15 million annually; he also called for an audit of all county contracts with an open-bidding process. Koslow advocated for the repossession and sale of all non-essential county cars.
Koslow also suggested numerous changes to the Nassau County Police Department. He said he would eliminate Blakeman’s “nonsensical militia” on his first day in office.
Koslow pushed for increasing neighborhood patrols and protecting houses of worship. Helping to ensure houses of worship are secure is being done by NCPD with its new RAVE App.
He also said the department should introduce its latest technologies to high-crime neighborhoods and call for an increase in the department's overall headcount by 10 percent. There are roughly 2,600 officers in NCPD.
For fairer property taxes, Koslow called for the transfer of assessment responsibility to towns and cities rather than the Nassau County Department of Assessment and for funding the decentralization by eliminating the department.
Koslow said that challenging assessments should be made simpler to help eliminate the need for lawyers; he advocated lobbying for state law to limit tax attorney fees to no more than 25 percent of refunds.
He also suggested several policies to improve Nassau's affordability and quality of life, including a web-based hotline to report potholes and fix damaged roads. Koslow also called for establishing an entrepreneurial ombudsperson to cut business red tape, which he said would help bring businesses to Nassau.
Koslow said that he hopes to establish a Nassau Master Plan Commission to create a development roadmap for the future.
Calling for a Climate Threat Assessment Commission, Koslow said the group would develop plans for avoiding damage from future storms. He also advocated for creating a web-based hotline for reporting flooding and working with Suffolk County and volunteer fire departments to develop wildfire fighting plans.
He also said he wanted federal infrastructure funding to bury overhead power lines, which would protect the Nassau grid.
Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Blakeman, criticized Koslow's presentation.
“Seth is a woke, know nothing, do nothing legislator," Boyle said, adding that he would be a "disaster for Nassau County.”
