Blumencranz promises to bring fresh perspective

At least the 26-year-old thinks so, and hopes he’ll have a chance to fight for his generation as a member of the Assembly. 

As part of the Nassau County Police Department Foundation board, he first considered looking into how government works after being upset by the so-called “defund the police” movement. Blumencranz discovered there was little representation in Albany of young professionals — and young people in general. 

And as for the issues, the more he looked into them, the more he became convinced government needed his voice.  

An insurance advisor by trade, the Oyster Bay resident has committed to running on the Republican and Conservative tickets. But those labels don’t fully represent who he is.

“I’m an incredibly centrist candidate on a lot of issues,” Blumencranz told reporters during a recent Herald roundtable event. “I’m part of a new wave of Republicans here in New York and nationwide that are important to counteracting extremism on both sides.”

He’s already has success with bipartisanship at the police foundation, he said, and has a great relationship with people from different political parties. He hopes to bring this and his ideas of improving life for constituents on the North Shore as an Assemblyman. 

Blumencranz has what he describes as a four-point plan to cut taxes. He wants to index the state’s income tax bracket system, income tax rates dependent on taxable income and filing status. And he hopes to change the way Industrial Development Agency projects, supported by taxes, are funded. 

A state mandate to change evaluation standards to lower the costs would decrease taxes, he explained. 

Controversial taxation policies should be studied, Blumencranz added, before implementation. He’d like to consider an enhanced school tax relief program to find what will better suit Long Island and its hyperlocal issues that surround school and local taxes.  

Working with the police foundation has led Blumencranz to see the importance of technology. 

“It’s not just men on the ground solving crimes,” he said. “It’s more how can we use technology to our advantage. How can we use technology that exists to better solve crimes, and how can we look at different forms of policing.” 

He would like to see problem-oriented police near school grounds as a way to increase response rates. And although he wouldn’t legislate for such officers to be inside schools, Blumencranz said he wouldn’t oppose it. 

As for arming teachers and administrators? Blumencranz hasn’t seen it implemented in a way that would be successful in New York. 

“We are asking the right questions but giving the wrong answers,” he said, regarding public safety. “Why aren’t correction facilities correcting behavior? We need to look at solutions to decreasing recidivism, how we can treat different criminals in different ways so they can have life after prison and have a more successful stay. They shouldn’t be just a holding area.”

Unlike the typical Republican, Blumencranz supports abortion rights, and says government shouldn’t be involved in attempting to limit access to such procedures. 

And even in the GOP, Blumencranz says he’s not alone on that stance. “I would fight against it actively if they tried to overturn it.” 

His first priority, however, is to make sure Long Island is more affordable and a better place to live for the next generation. 

“If we don’t start doing that, we are in serious trouble here,” Blumencranz said. “My beliefs, policy knowledge and education allow me to cross that bridge. To find creative solutions from the world, and bring them here to New York.”