By Karen Rubin, News & Photo Features, editor@news-photos-features.com
There is quite literally no topic or interest that most New Yorkers support that Governor Hochul doesn’t stand for and her Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman doesn’t stand against: women’s reproductive rights, clean renewable energy, environmental protection, gun violence prevention, immigrant rights, criminal justice, public education, affordable housing, public health and safety.
A shorthand description of Bruce Blakeman’s “platform” is “anything trump wants”.
Have you heard anything from Blakeman that he stands for if he became New York’s Governor? Have you heard anything about his accomplishments as Nassau County Executive? His knee-jerk campaign slogan is “Law & Order & affordability” but he actually hasn’t done anything to promote either in Nassau, and has zero plans for the state. The only economic development that has happened under his watch has been the result of state funding of local municipalities, like the LI Regional Economic Council, Downtown Revitalization Initiative, infrastructure spending. And crime rates have fallen to historic lows under Governor Hochul, who has invested $4 billion in crime prevention and public safety, and mounted a successful multi-state campaign against illegal guns.
Blakeman grandstanding vs. Hochul standing for New Yorkers
This was clear during their one-and-only debate, mounted by NY1 and Spectrum, on Tuesday, October 13, when Blakeman – who obnoxiously kept interrupting, talking over Hochul and condescendingly calling her “Kathy” – kept repeating over and over the same tropes (“sanctuary city”, “cashless bail”) and using the same technique as trump, who he has spent his political life trying to appease and emulate, “This wouldn’t have happened if I were governor” – which he said to blame Hochul, instead of ICE, for the shooting of a Bronx man in front of his five-year old.
Interestingly, Blakeman was never able to point to a single achievement during his time as Nassau County Executive. When he took credit for Nassau being named “safest county in America,” Hochul correctly pointed out that that happened under his predecessor, Democrat Laura Curran, while crime rates have actually increased in Nassau while decreasing statewide to historic lows: Politifact reported the rate of violent crimes in Nassau went up by 18% and the rate of property crimes increased by 29% since 2021 when he took office, the murder rate has steadily increased since2022, while the murder rate statewide has decreased.
No matter what the question or topic, Blakeman accused Hochul of being responsible for all that is ill in New York State because of her “sanctuary state” policies, and claimed she spends $8 billion in giveaways to illegal migrants (New York State allocates $2.7 billion in state asylum/emergency spending, and asylum seekers and migrants are not “illegal”.)
And while Blakeman accused her of complicity in any crime committed by an undocumented migrant (rape, murder) because she has banned local law enforcement from aiding ICE in its illegal terror campaign (he said the day she signed that legislation was the worst day in his life), she insisted multiple times that state law enforcement cooperates with federal to capture criminals who are then entitled to due process in court proceedings to determine their guilt.
Blakeman continually attacked her for New York’s long-standing high taxes (actually not the highest in the country) and utility rates, but Hochul was able to counter that Trump illegally cancelled (and bought off wind-power companies with $1 billion of taxpayer money) to stop offshore windpower projects already underway – one that would have powered all of Brooklyn – and has done a lot to cultivate leading edge nuclear power (eight communities have come forward).
Hochul could have pointed to NYSERDA’s Innovation and Research (I&R) program, which invests more than $96 million per year to attract world-class energy innovators, reduce risk for private investors and remove barriers to clean energy adoption in New York State, leveraging $15 in additional investment for every $1 spent. NYSERDA has partnered with more than 900 companies that have helped make more than 300 products commercially available for consumers, businesses and utilities. Funding for this program is provided through the New York State Public Service Commission’s2025 Innovation and Research Order, which funds statewide clean energy innovation and research programs from 2026 through 2030.
And she could have pointed to her CHARGE Agenda (Clean, Highly Affordable, Reliable Grid Expansion) -a comprehensive plan to keep the lights on and costs down for New Yorkers while achieving a reliable, zero-emission grid. The five-pronged strategy focuses on driving down consumer costs, holding energy companies accountable, building clean energy at scale, modernizing the state’s aging grid, and growing a clean economy with family-sustaining jobs. Through bold initiatives like the Ratepayer Protection Plan, historic transmission buildouts, and a new 8.4-gigawatt “Nuclear Backbone,” the CHARGE agenda ensures an affordable, resilient, and self-sufficient energy future that prioritizes everyday ratepayers while building a cleaner, more sustainable New York.
Blakeman never said a word against Trump’s rescission of those clean energy projects (not even Trump’s pull back of $100 million in law enforcement funding), nor Trump’s tariffs and anti-Canada that have hurt New York’s farmers and tourism industry so critical upstate, nor has he called out Trump for his illegal, ill-conceived and destructive war of choice in Iran, and promises to shift New York State’s focus to lower carbon emissions by encouraging fracking, actually mimicking Trump’s disdain of the clean energy “scam.”
Hochul has also made good on her Affordability agenda, key initiatives to lower everyday expenses for New York families: including Universal Child Care: Energy and Utility Relief: Tax Relief on Tips: Insurance Cost Reductions: Food Assistance: Housing and Renter Protections.
Instead, Blakeman has only opposed Hochul’s every effort to improve affordability and quality of life for New Yorkers: he fought her housing plan (asked to name a regret she had, she said that she didn’t fight harder for her first “carrot-and-stick” housing affordability plan); made a great show of opposing congestion pricing in mid-Manhattan; promises to cut Medicaid, promote fracking, and overturn her moratorium on building data centers.
And he completely flubbed the multi-million development of “The Hub” (the former Nassau Coliseum) which he wanted to sell off to the Sands for a casino complex, over the community’s objections.
And when it comes to his “public safety” scam – focused obsessively, like Trump, on migrants and setting up a secretive private militia – he has ignored the actual threats to his county’s public safety: dangerous roads that have caused the highest rates of fatalities and crashes in the state. He literally ignores and dismisses the state safe streets programs that have been embraced by neighboring Suffolk County and does nothing to promote mass transit or transit alternatives.
In fact, he dismisses everything that the state offers – $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative, New York Forward grants, Climate Action Communities – available to assist communities and shunning her announcement of the state’s $150-million investment in New York BioGenesis Park, a $430 million world leading cell and gene therapy (CGT) innovation hub in Lake Success. (The 700,000-square-foot full-service biotech campus will feature a specialized business incubator, wet labs, and specialized contract manufacturing towers designed to pioneer life-saving cancer and genetic disorder treatments; bring 830 construction jobs and 700 highly-skilled biotech positions to Lake Success, with construction slated for completion by 2029. In fact, Blakeman had told Hochul not to dare step foot in Nassau County.
Hochul can point to a long list of achievements that go directly to improving affordability and quality of life – expanding child care and pre-school, incentivizing construction of housing in order to bring down costs; expanding clean, renewable energy; bringing new high-tech enterprises to the state, from biomedical research to semiconductor chip manufacture, creating new research centers throughout the SUNY system, and making it easier for New Yorkers to attend higher education.
However, unlike too many politicians who are short-sighted and only want the appearance of a win, Hochul is also mindful – and sensitive – to the destructive effects that development can have and passed the first-in-the-nation moratorium on data center construction and created a commission to come up with guidelines and regulatory model. She has said that no data center should be built unless it is approved by the community, pays the community real money (instead of getting tax credits), and provides its own electricity.
Blakeman is great at sloganeering – “Safety & Affordability” is his campaign mantra, predicated on falsities about Hochul’s record – but has literally done nothing and proposed nothing to realize the rhetoric. Improve public safety? He even opposed Hochul’s gun violence prevention legislation after the Trump Supreme Court overturned the state’s century-old gun control law and said it should be easier to register guns and that guns should be permitted in synagogues). He’s not offered a single detail about how he would cut taxes or improve affordability – he hasn’t even fulfilled his campaign promises to lower property taxes or even make them fair, and the only reason property taxes have not risen in Nassau is because he has hoarded Biden-era federal funds so he could use the interest revenue on nearly $1 billion in reserves. On public safety, his singular idea is to end the notion of “sanctuary” and restore local police enforcement cooperation with ICE.
On the other hand, what successes Nassau County has had in lowering crime has been entirely due to policies and programs by Governor Hochul’s administration (investing $4 billion in community violence prevention, local law enforcement, and counter-terrorism, helped along with Biden-era community violence prevention grants, which Blakeman pooh-poohed and did nothing after Trump cancelled, rescinded, diverted millions of dollars of federal funding.
And Blakeman has literally done nothing to improve safety where it matters, unlike turning undocumented immigrants into boogeymen – our unsafe roads – showing extraordinary and willful detachment when Suffolk County and others around the state have taken advantage of State Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Complete Streets programs.
He also continues to boast about his ban on transgender individuals playing girls sports, and his opposition to the state’s ban on using offensive Native American mascots on school teams. He’s very big on banning things: he also banned wearing a mask in public during the coronavirus pandemic (but backs ICE wearing masks).
He’s done nothing for affordability in Nassau – when County residents complain that their kids can’t afford a house here, he did everything to defeat Hochul’s affordable housing initiatives, rather than work with the state on something that would work better for Nassau. His NIMBYism however doesn’t extend to Hochul’s moratorium on data centers, though, which he has called “crazy.”
And he never fulfilled his chronic campaign promises to “fix” the tax assessment system – indeed, the only reason Nassau County property taxes have not been raised is that he has been using the interest revenue on $800 million in reserves (by not spending Biden-era federal grants); next year, he will dip $43 million into reserves in order not to raise taxes as he runs for Governor (which he announced the day after winning reelection as Nassau County executive).
Whatever economic development (Downtown Revitalization Programs) and infrastructure spending initiatives that have happened on Long Island (LIRR third track, rebuilding bridges and roads, water infrastructure) have been funded from the state.
During the debate, Blakeman tried to assert that New York’s economy has suffered under Hochul – that it is 50th among the states in growth – and New Yorkers are miserable and suffering. But that was exposed as a lie: New York State had the fastest growing economy in the nation in the second quarter of 2026, according to new data from Trump’s own Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). New York’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 4.0% from the first quarter to the second, which was the highest of any state and nearly double the national growth rate of 2.2%.
“New York’s economy is growing faster than any other state in the nation — and we made it happen by driving innovation, creating good jobs and investing in our communities,” Governor Hochul stated in announcing the report. “I’ll continue building on this progress every day, as my administration moves forward with nation-leading policies and investments to keep sparking even more economic growth and put more money in the pockets of New York families.”
And latest reports show where the actual pain is coming from: the annual inflation rate is 3.7% (it was 3.0% when Biden left office), and wages are not keeping pace.
Blakeman’s attacks on Hochul for promoting solar energy on upstate farmland as somehow harming farmers is ridiculous (while making no remark about the adverse impacts of Trump’s tariffs and Iran War on the cost of diesel and pesticides).
During Climate Week NYC, Governor Hochul announced $16.8 million is available for projects that will help address the impacts of climate change and protect water quality across New York State through the Climate Resilient Farming (CRF) Grant Program. Funded projects aim to help New York farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect water quality, protect and enhance soil health and increase on-farm resiliency. These funding opportunities build on the Governor’s efforts to support programs and initiatives that combat climate change and support the conservation of the state’s natural resources.
Hochul’s 2027 budget provides $83 million through the Environmental Protection Fund, for agricultural programs and initiatives, such as the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Program and the Climate Resilient Farming grant program, that are helping farms to implement environmentally sustainable practices and combat climate change.
In addition, the voter-approved $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 is advancing historic levels of funding to update aging water infrastructure and protect water quality, strengthen communities’ ability to withstand severe storms and flooding, reduce air pollution and lower climate-altering emissions, restore habitats and preserve outdoor spaces and local farms.
New York State’s climate agenda calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments and directs a minimum of 40 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy, including in the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors. The State is also working to disburse the historic $2 billion Sustainable Future Program, which will deliver targeted funding to lower emissions, reduce household energy costs and spur green job growth.
Governor Kathy Hochul just announced that more than $97 million in funding has been awarded to more than 30 communities across New York State for projects that promote alternative, environmentally friendly modes of travel, such as walking, biking or hiking. The funding will support initiatives that improve access to the transportation system for all users, enhance safety and facilitate the use of non-motorized modes of travel that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The awards were made available through the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) and are being administered by the New York State Department of Transportation.
Despite Nassau County’s dangerous roads, Blakeman has done absolutely nothing to promote alternative transportation, even arresting e-bikers and seizing their e-bikes, rather than come up with reasonable regulation, and he has done nothing to promote the creation of a 120-mile long Long Island Greenway that would link up with the state’s 750-mile long Empire Trail Network of biking/walking trails.
Blakeman has made clear that all of this would be undone if he becomes Governor. He has no interest in promoting New York’s energy self-sufficiency that would come from clean, renewable energy, or environmental protection and mitigation against climate change, with his version of “drill baby drill.”
Instead, he persists in summoning up tropes to attack Hochul: affordable housing, cashless bail, protection for the civil and human rights of migrants.
It was interesting how many times he chastised Hochul for attacking Trump when all he did was bring up trump. His feeble attempt to suggest his “independence” from Trump came when he said he was pro-choice (but I doubt he would go to bat for women’s rights, health and safety as Hochul has), and would support a “guest worker” program for undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for many years, with no criminal record and who are part of community (except he has made no effort to get Trump on board or challenge the administration’s illegal, cruel detention and deportation programs including family separation, and didn’t life a finger when Fernando Mejia-Flores (40), the manager of Schmear Bagel & Cafe in Port Washington, was detained by ICE on June 12, 2025.
But he was for Ukrainians until Trump decided to side with Putin, instead.
During the debate, Hochul countered Blakeman’s attack that Hochul is responsible for any crime committed by virtue of the state’s sanctuary and cashless bail policies. “There are serious crimes where they will work with ICE agents to remove people,” she stated. “That is a fact, all across the state of New York. We always work with law enforcement, remove people who are committing crimes. And the other thing is, when people commit a crime, I want them to go through our court system. I want victims to have their day in court. Then we kick them out of the country at the end of their prison term. That’s how it’s always operated, has always worked successfully, until you have ICE agents roaming the streets and county executives like him supporting them.”
And Hochul stands up for women’s rights (and human rights): “No one should have to fear being punished for seeking or providing reproductive care,” Governor Hochul stated on Sept. 30. “As anti-abortion extremists in other states try to reach across our borders and threaten patients and providers, New York will stand up for them. Our shield laws are there to protect that freedom, and I will never stop fighting to keep New York a safe haven for reproductive rights.”
Another sign of how Blakeman would govern is that Blakeman’s ample pr staff publishes announcements of his photo ops the day before and the day of, but never follows up with a press release about what was said or done.
In contrast, Hochul’s press staff publishes announcement, live links to watch, follows up with a press release listing what was accomplished, and a separate release with photos, video, and transcript of remarks.
Blakeman has quite literally never proposed anything to address a problem or improve quality of life for the county he oversees. Like Trump, he has no ideas, only knows how to attack, lie and deflect blame.
What has not been reported is, like Trump, Blakeman is 100 percent partisan, abusing the power of his office. Democrats on the Nassau County Legislature (where gerrymandering has created a permanent Republican super majority) have repeatedly complained that Blakeman withholds millions of dollars in municipal, public safety, and grant funding from Democratic-led districts while favoring Republican areas, locks Democrats out of discussion and refuses to consult with Democrats or incorporate any of their policies or compromises in legislation. He doesn’t even allow Democrats to be included in his photo ops. What is more, he ignores press queries – such as (most recently) why he has not come out in support of the creation of the Long Island Greenway – believing he is not really answerable to anyone.
Nor has anyone reported how he has basically used county money for his own political ends – how he pulled the county out of a decades-long partnership with Discover Long Island, a professional tourism marketing organization, to give $10 million contract to a woman working out of her home with no tourism promotion experience, so he could take charge of $15 million budget. Nor how when he first took office, the midst of COVID pandemic, he simply announced the deadly infection ended, and Nassau County’s economy “open for business.” He has done nothing to inform residents of upsurges in public health risks and his so-called Health Commissioner has been MIA since he took office.
There isn’t a single achievement Blakeman can point to during his terms as Nassau County executive.
What is clear is that Governor Hochul stands for climate action, environmental protection, women’s reproductive rights, civil rights, criminal justice, voting rights, affordable housing, access to affordable child care and health care, standing up to Big Tech and an authoritarian regime and for the Rule of Law, and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman does not.
All of this is at risk if Blakeman defeats Hochul.
______________________________
© 2026 News & Photo Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles,Inc. All rights reserved. For editorial feature and photo information, go to www.news-photos-features.com,email editor@news-photos-features.com.Blogging at www.dailykos.com/blogs/NewsPhotosFeatures