Laura Curran to run for county executive

Posted

Nassau County Legislator Laura Curran, a Democrat from Baldwin, will run for county executive.

Curran, 48, made an official announcement at a news conference at her home in Baldwin on Nov. 15.Despite the heavy downpour, dozens of people turned out to support Curran.

“We desperately need a fresh start,” she said. “Let’s face it — the same guys have been in charge of one of the richest counties in the country for a long time, and look at the mess we’re in.”


Curran was elected to the Legislature in 2014, and represents the 5th District, which includes most of Baldwin, all of South Hempstead, a large section of Freeport and parts of Merrick, Oceanside and Rockville Centre. “I’m not a career politician,” she said in a prepared statement. “I’ve seen the dysfunction, the self-interest and the inability to figure out our county’s basic finances. And I’ve heard loud and clear the frustration and disgust of our residents. I feel it too.”

Curran has worked with both parties in the Legislature to pass several bills, including one that restored county bus routes in her district, and another that helps veteran-owed businesses win county contracts. In her statement, she also noted legislation she helped craft to create the nonprofit Nassau County Land Bank, for the purpose of buying vacant and abandoned houses and then renovating and selling them.

In October, Curran broke with the Democratic Party and voted for more than $50 million in capital borrowing for road and infrastructure projects, including the Grand Avenue redevelopment project and environmental initiatives.

“My devotion to our residents has sometimes made me a maverick,” Curran said in her statement, “but I am proud of my reputation as someone who delivers real results.”

Before she got involved in public service, Curran was a journalist, working at times for the New York Post and the Daily News. In the late 1990s, she was an editor at the Herald Community Newspapers.

In 2011 she was elected to the Baldwin Board of Education, and she served on it through 2014, when she was elected to the Legislature. “As board president, I made the budgeting process more transparent, as we made tough decisions amid serious budget constraints,” she said. “I helped navigate the district through a few tough years, and am so proud that the district not only pulled through but emerged stronger than ever.”

She promised to do the same for Nassau County. “We need to get our finances under control,” she said. “That will take hard decisions, realistic budgeting and strong management of … tax dollars.”

In the coming months, Curran said, she plans to unveil her ideas to address flaws in the property-assessment system and to bring more transparency to county government. “Our tax dollars are meant to be for services residents need and serve, not to fund a never-ending public relations campaign to keep those same politicians in office,” she said to a round of applause from her supporters.

Curran is not the only Democrat who has expressed interest in the county executive position. County Comptroller George Maragos, who recently switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, announced his candidacy last month and Democrat State Assemblyman Charles Lavine, of Glen Cove, announced his candidacy on Nov. 14. Democrat Jack Schnirman, the Long Beach City manger, is also considering throwing his hat in the ring. Curran noted the number of candidates is “good for residents,” she said. “In the coming months I will be meeting with residents throughout the County because I want to hear directly from you about your concerns and priorities.

“Government is supposed to be of the people, by the people and for the people,” Curran said. “Now is not the time for the same phony-baloney solutions or for tinkering around the edges of our very real problems.”