1. Bruce Arthur Blakeman was born on October 2,1955 and is an American attorney and politician currently serving as the 10th County Executive of Nassau County, New York.
38 Facts About Bruce Blakeman
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Bruce Blakeman was elected in the 2021 election, defeating Democratic incumbent Laura Curran.
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Bruce Blakeman previously served as a commissioner for the New York-New Jersey Port Authority as well as a Nassau County legislator and Hempstead town councilman.
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Bruce Blakeman's mother, Betty, served in the Women's Army Corps and his father was a merchant mariner and later Naval Reserve officer.
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Bruce Blakeman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from Arizona State University and a Juris Doctor from the California Western School of Law.
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Bruce Blakeman was first elected to the Hempstead Town Council in 1993.
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In 1998, Bruce Blakeman was the Republican nominee for New York State Comptroller.
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Bruce Blakeman lost in the general election to incumbent Democrat Carl McCall.
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In June 2001, Bruce Blakeman was appointed by Governor George Pataki as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
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Long Island Business News reported that Bruce Blakeman received a "multimillion-dollar" commission for the sale.
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In 2014, Bruce Blakeman ran for the 4th congressional district, after incumbent Carolyn McCarthy announced her retirement.
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In January 2015, Bruce Blakeman was appointed to the Hempstead Town Council, replacing James Darcy after previously serving on the Hempstead Town Council from 1993 to 1995.
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In 2017, Bruce Blakeman joined fellow Republican councilwoman Erin King-Sweeney in endorsing Democratic challenger Laura Gillen in the race for Hempstead Town Supervisor.
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Bruce Blakeman was succeeded on the Hempstead town council by Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Miller.
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In March 2021, Bruce Blakeman was chosen by Nassau Republicans to run against incumbent Democratic Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
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Bruce Blakeman opposes the 2019 New York bail reform and has called for its repeal.
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On January 11,2023, Bruce Blakeman joined Nassau Republican Chairman Joseph Cairo and other elected officials to call for the resignation of Congressman George Santos.
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Bruce Blakeman pledged not to work with Santos, criticizing him for lying about his resume, and falsely claiming his grandparents were Holocaust survivors.
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In March 2023, preceding Ramadan, Passover, Easter, and a campaign visit from then-presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, Bruce Blakeman created a patrol unit within the Nassau County Police Department modeled on the NYPD's "Hercules" counterterrorism unit.
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On May 24,2023, Bruce Blakeman held a rally and press conference in Manhattan in support of West Islip resident Daniel Penny.
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Bruce Blakeman located the girl and her family, and worked with New York Yankees President Randy Levine to bring her to a Yankee game and watch batting practice from the field.
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Bruce Blakeman responded that Nassau County had no plans for "any migrant program".
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On November 28,2023, Bruce Blakeman called for the resignation of Susan Poser, president of Hofstra University, over a letter she sent to the Hofstra community about the Hamas attacks in Israel.
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In July 2024, the New York Times reported that Bruce Blakeman had recruited 75 people for a force of "special deputies" to deploy during emergencies.
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Bruce Blakeman was sued in February 2025 by Democratic county legislators opposing the special deputy force.
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On September 19,2022, Bruce Blakeman introduced his annual budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year.
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On September 16,2024, Bruce Blakeman signed the county's 2025 budget plan, totaling $4.2 billion.
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Bruce Blakeman is a proponent of a lease from Nassau County to the Las Vegas Sands entertainment company to redevelop the site of the Nassau Coliseum, including the construction of a casino.
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In May 2024, Bruce Blakeman announced that the county would resubmit the lease-transfer application.
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On February 22,2024, Bruce Blakeman issued an executive order banning women's sports teams that include transgender women from using county facilities.
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State Democratic leadership and Long Island LGBTQ advocates condemned the order as discriminatory and illegal under state law, and accused Bruce Blakeman of using the controversy over transgender people in sports for self-promotion.
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State attorney general Letitia James issued a cease-and-desist letter to Bruce Blakeman; he sued the attorney general in response.
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In March 2024, Bruce Blakeman attended the wake of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller alongside Donald Trump and Eric Adams in Massapequa.
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Bruce Blakeman held and attended a rally for Trump at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale during September 2024, prior to the elections in November.
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Bruce Blakeman was previously married to Nancy Shevell, who is married to Paul McCartney of The Beatles.
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Bruce Blakeman has one son, Arlen, and two step children, Ariel and Avi.
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Bruce Blakeman is a member of the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, a Modern Orthodox synagogue.
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Bruce Blakeman provided a DNA sample to identify his nephew's remains.