By Delia DeRiggi-Whitton
Often as a Nassau County Legislator, I find myself questioning why certain issues unfold the way that they do. On many occasions and with increased frequency in this hyper-partisan age, the operations of government are closely tied to politics.
However, the “why” is not always readily apparent – and it is our job as Legislators to dig deeper and identify the cases in which that connection is found a bit beneath the surface.
Take outside legal counsel contracts, for instance. While Nassau County continues to benefit from a fully staffed County Attorney’s office staffed by many qualified lawyers, it is occasionally necessary to outsource highly complex cases to firms with specialized expertise. The emphasis, however, should be on “occasionally.”
During the administration of former County Executive Laura Curran, the County spent approximately $5 million for this service. Fast forward to 2025 and the administration of Bruce Blakeman, and a recent audit by the Nassau Interim Finance Agency (NIFA) identified more than $23 million in spending on outside legal counsel (last year alone)!
Many of these outside counsel contracts are for cases that are ill-advised legally or should be handled in house. Some recent examples include spending $3.2 million to defend county fee practices that courts have already ruled illegal or unconstitutional; millions to defend a case brought by Newsday, alleging financial retaliation over critical coverage; and millions more right after Election Day 2025.
This included a contract for a Republican legislative candidate. While Blakeman’s administration initiated the contract last spring, they failed to disclose it until after Election Day, when it arrived at the Legislature for our consideration after the fact.
While the “why” was abundantly clear in that one example, the answer for many of the other contracts can be found in the fine print. In each proposal that the Legislature receives, we receive a list of the firm’s political contributions as required under County law. Most, if not all of those donations go to the County Executive or his Republican colleagues in the Legislature.
The same holds true for the County Executive’s disastrous handling of the Department of Assessment. According to one assessment expert, the rolls are more inaccurate now than they have been at any point in the last 25 years – so why has Blakeman chosen to keep the tax rolls frozen, do nothing, and then dishonestly claim that he “fixed” the system? Campaign donations.
The firms that challenge homeowners’ assessments each year make huge sums by taking advantage of a dysfunctional, indefensible roll that is riddled with inaccuracies and discrepancies. And, right on cue, these firms donate generously to Blakeman and the Republicans who keep the system broken for their benefit, and the property owners of Nassau County are the ones who end up paying the price.
Finally, the “why” I find hardest to accept is related to Nassau County’s nearly $100 million in opioid fund reserves. For nearly five years, most of these funds have sat in bank accounts, and as of December, a review of Nassau’s financial system shows that less than 7 percent has made it out of County bank accounts and into actual treatment initiatives.
The technical nature of the “why” in this case makes it no less of an outrage. Nassau County’s financial condition is monitored by Moody’s and other rating agencies. A major factor in their determinations are related to municipal reserves. Instead of delivering resources to agencies that are providing life-saving prevention, treatment and recovery resources to people struggling with addiction, Nassau has released the funds at a snail’s pace. Having these funds on the books artificially increases the County’s total reserves. While that may have helped our bond ratings, that is little comfort for families that are desperate for help and hope.
Now that we understand the “why” behind these glaring examples of dysfunction, it is incumbent upon us all to answer the next most important question – “how”. How do we correct these errors? How do we install guardrails to prevent their return? Most importantly – how do we ensure that we are always serving the people of Nassau County to the best of our ability?
That must be our mission throughout 2026. It is time for the Legislature to reassert its crucial role as a coequal branch of government and challenge the County Executive when his administration’s actions conflict with the best interests of Nassau County residents.
Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, of Glen Cove, is the Democratic Minority Leader of the Nassau County Legislature. She represents the 11th Legislative District and has served since 2012.