1. Laura Curran was born on December 31,1967 and is a Canadian-born American politician who served as the county executive of Nassau County from 2018 to 2021.
17 Facts About Laura Curran
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Laura Curran was the ninth county executive in Nassau County history and the first woman to hold the office.
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Laura Curran moved frequently as a child, and before turning 18, lived in Belgium, Pembroke Pines, Florida, Five Towns, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC.
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In 1989, Laura Curran earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College.
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Laura Curran previously served in the Nassau County Legislature from 2014 to 2017 and as a local school board member in her hometown of Baldwin.
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In 2017, Laura Curran won a September 12 primary against Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who switched parties from Republican to Democratic.
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Laura Curran is the third Democrat to hold the position in 80 years.
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Laura Curran was sworn into office on January 1,2018, by then-Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo on the steps of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building.
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On November 16,2021, Laura Curran conceded the race for Nassau County Executive to Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman and left office on December 31,2021.
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Laura Curran attributed her loss to her name being on the same ballot as State Senator Todd Kaminsky, Democrat of Long Beach, for Nassau County District Attorney.
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Laura Curran was the author of the bail reform law that disgruntled many Long Islanders.
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Laura Curran appointed the first permanent commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department in more than four years.
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Additionally, Laura Curran introduced a proposal providing tax relief to the homeowners who shouldered the majority of the tax burden shift under the 2011 freeze.
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Laura Curran signed an executive order barring appointees from holding leadership positions in political parties or donating to her campaign.
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Shortly after, Laura Curran issued a "zero-tolerance" executive order banning gift-giving among vendors and employees involved with procurement or contracting procedures.
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Laura Curran has asked the county's public works department to simply remove the county executive's name altogether.
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In opposition to rising public opinion of her electorate and popular sentiment within the New York State Legislature, controlled by the Democratic Party in all three chambers at the time, Laura Curran took a hardline stance against the legalization of recreational marijuana and announced that she intended to have Nassau County opt-out of the clause which would legalize marijuana that was included in an early version of the 2019 New York State Budget.