Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman accuses CSEA of antisemitism 

Nassau County's largest public employee union has been accused of releasing a mailer alleging an antisemitic trope toward County Executive Bruce Blakeman on the eve of Yom Kippur.

The mailer, part of a months long, bitter dispute between Blakeman and the county's largest public employee union over health benefits, features a photo of Blakeman altered to include devil horns on his head. Blakeman's likeness does not appear to be altered and he is wearing a suit and tie and laughing.

The mailer — with a line that reads "The Devil is in the Details" — shows a speech bubble next to Blakeman charging that CSEA members would be paying more in health benefits. 

Blakeman, 69, of Atlantic Beach is a Republican and Nassau's first Jewish county executive. Yom Kippur, a solemn time of fasting for Jews, began at sundown on Friday.    

"With all of the antisemitism that is present, it is despicable that on the eve of the holiest Jewish holiday, the CSEA employee union would depict County Executive Blakeman, who is a Jew, with horns which is an old antisemitic slur," Blakeman administration spokesman Chris Boyle said.

He continued to say the county executive "will not capitulate to the union’s demands for a different health care provider that they didn’t bargain for, which would cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars."

CSEA Local 830 President Ron Gurrieri did not return multiple calls and text messages seeking comment Friday.

Last year, several local Democratic candidates including former county legislator Josh Lafazan and former North Hempstead supervisor Jon Kaiman complained of ads paid for by the Nassau Republican Committee that depicted them with horns and piles of cash, alleging antisemitism. 

Blakeman and CSEA have been at odds over health coverage for roughly 4,200 county employees since the summer. But the situation escalated last weekend, with Blakeman and union leadership finger-pointing through direct emails to CSEA members and county retirees.

The union also sponsored a billboard with Blakeman in a clown costume. 

Newsday previously reported a state deadline of Oct. 1 for the county to find a new health plan to replace the discontinuing state Excelsior Plan.

CSEA members agreed last year to move from the state's Empire Plan to the Excelsior Plan, saving the county about $280 million over their 13-year contract in exchange for wage increases and signing bonuses. Nassau's current budget is about $4 billion.

Several  retired employees previously told Newsday they had hoped the county would return them to the Empire Plan, which they say provided better coverage and fewer out-of-pocket costs. But county budget officials said that would leave a $43 million hole in the 2024 budget. 

Boyle referred Newsday's questions about the status of the negotiations between the administration and the CSEA to an attorney handling the matter. 

In a letter dated Oct. 6 to all active CSEA county employees, Blakeman assured them THAT health coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2025 would be provided by Anthem, formerly Blue Cross. 

"You will have the same coverage as thousands of other County employees, including Police Officers and Corrections Officers," Blakeman wrote in the letter, which Newsday obtained from the attorney representing the county. 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.