Nassau County Democrats are accusing Republicans of withholding critical infrastructure funding in Democratic districts for things like fire safety and water treatment.
Democratic minority leader in the county Legislature Delia DeRiggi-Whitton said at a news conference on Wednesday that the practice has been ongoing since County Executive Bruce Blakeman took office in January 2022.
“We’ve been patient, we’ve supported the Republican projects,” she said. “But we’re at the point now where we have to do something. We have to represent our residents.”
Blakeman won his 2021 election for county executive by less than 1%, beating Democrat Laura Curran. Since then, he has championed issues important to the Republican base, taking on mask mandates, a state ban on Native American imagery, appearing on Fox News to defend Daniel Penny and mounting a months-long campaign to ban trans women from playing sports on county property.
Blakeman declined interview requests through a spokesperson on Wednesday. In an emailed statement, he blamed Democrats for submitting paperwork that was “incomplete and lacking important details.”
“During my administration, minority members of the Legislature received over $2 million dollars for community projects in their districts,” he said. “I stand ready to work with either side of the aisle.”
Republicans in the Legislature did not return messages seeking comment.
Records show 39% of registered voters in Nassau are Democrats, who hold a seven-to-12 minority in the county Legislature.
During their news conference, Democrats highlighted two spending programs they say favored Republican-controlled districts. They said their districts have been denied $840,000 in firefighting equipment and have not received any water treatment funding as part of a federal stimulus grant.
Meanwhile, according to Democrats, Republican districts have received $760,000 in grant funding and $4 million in water treatment from the federal grant.
“There is no such thing as a Republican fire or a Democrat fire. There are just fires,” Legislator Debra Mulé said. “Shame on anybody who is preventing safety.”
In response, the Democratic caucus in the Legislature said it plans to withhold support for the county’s capital budget, which requires a supermajority to pass, and thus, at least one Democrat.
“We’re very willing to proceed with one, but it’s going to have to be under these terms, which is: our projects also have to move forward in the capital plan,” DeRiggi-Whitton said.
Blakeman blamed Democrats for trying to “hijack the capital budget.”
“If the Democrats are serious about moving projects forward, they must immediately pass the capital projects budget,” Blakeman said.