Overview
- At a packed Uniondale ceremony, Bruce Blakeman took the oath administered by his wife and signed the county Religious Safety Act restricting close contact with people entering or leaving religious sites.
- Nassau’s Democratic legislative caucus boycotted the event, accusing him of sidelining the legislature and withholding funds from Democratic districts.
- Blakeman, who declared his gubernatorial run on Dec. 9, gained support from state GOP leaders after Elise Stefanik left the race.
- He is pitching a statewide platform drawn from his first-term record, citing on-time budgets, a property-tax freeze, expanded policing and cooperation with ICE, as well as mask and trans-athlete restrictions.
- A new Zogby poll shows Gov. Kathy Hochul leading Blakeman 53% to 39%, a smaller gap than a December Siena survey that had him down 50% to 25%.