Democratic Legis. Seth Koslow launches bid for Nassau County executive

Nassau County Legis. Seth Koslow is launching his bid as the Democratic candidate for county executive, a post currently held by Republican Bruce Blakeman.

Koslow, a South Merrick resident, is kicking off his campaign on Wednesday with a fundraiser in Westbury, featuring state and Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs, former Nassau County Executives Laura Curran and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove). Koslow hopes to unseat Blakeman on a platform of tax relief, increased funding for youth nonprofits, road repairs and curbing the effects of pollution in communities of color, according to his website.

“Nassau County families are being squeezed while their tax dollars are wasted on frivolous lawsuits, inflated salaries, and self-serving political promotions," Koslow said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "I’m running to restore trust, eliminate waste, and make our County more affordable for everyone.”

In a statement, Jacobs criticized Blakeman’s tenure in office and declared Koslow would "restore accountability, put families first, manage taxpayer dollars responsibly, and take real action to keep our communities safe."

Koslow’s successful run for Nassau County legislator in 2023 was his first bid for elected office. Since January 2024 he has represented 5th Legislative District, which covers Freeport, Merrick and portions of North Merrick and North Bellmore. From 2013 to 2016, Koslow was an assistant district attorney in Queens and he is still a practicing attorney handling criminal defense and traffic court cases. Koslow has a bachelor’s degree from American University and a law degree from Touro University.

Koslow will likely face Blakeman, who amassed over $1 million in his campaign account as of last August. Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Blakeman, said Blakeman has intentions to run for office but no decision has been made. 

Boyle also defended the county executive’s record while in office, touting that no taxes have been raised "even after inflation went through the roof, refused to make Nassau a sanctuary county, put more cops on our streets, [and] fought against radical pro-criminal policies."

Koslow seeks to flip the seat back to blue after Blakeman defeated Curran with a close margin in 2021. He has roughly $54,000 in his campaign account, according to state records.

There were about 385,000 registered Democrats in Nassau as of November, about 306,000 registered Republicans and roughly 277,000 independent voters.