Thursday, October 22, 2026
For Kadeem Brown, running for the Nassau County Legislature is closely tied to the community where he grew up.
A lifelong Elmont resident and a 2009 graduate of Elmont Memorial High School, Brown, a Republican, said that the programs and people he saw around him as a child helped shape the person he is today. Now, as he challenges the incumbent in the 3rd District, Carrié Solages, once again, Brown said he wants to help bring some of those same opportunities back to the community.
He earned a management degree at Penn State, and has spent over a decade in the financial services industry, now in private wealth management at J.P. Morgan. His work, Brown said, has given him a firsthand look at how families manage their money and deal with the rising cost of living in Nassau County.
“I know the troubles, the stress that they have to go through trying to be able to pay bills,” he said.
At a roundtable discussion with the Herald, Brown said that his own experience has made the cost of living especially personal. He rents in the community where he grew up, and has watched friends leave the area because they can’t afford to buy homes.
One of his proposals for addressing the tax burden is to attract and support more businesses, which, he said, can help offset some of the taxes residents pay. He pointed to the development around UBS Arena and Belmont Park as an opportunity for Elmont.
Brown said he wants residents to see more direct benefits from the investment taking place in their community, including potential tax relief. His financial background, he added, could help him examine whether county programs and services are reaching residents. Nassau County already offers programs that can help families with affordability, he said, but many are unaware of them.
Brown would like to see programs for young people, such as Little League and CYO, expanded. “When I was growing up, there were so many resources,” he said. “Those resources really molded me and shaped me.”
On the issue of public safety, Brown said he doesn’t believe communities need more formal liaisons with police. He contends that the existing community policing structure already provides an avenue for communication, and that local leaders needs to make better use of those relationships.
Regulating e-bikes, he said, requires considering both public safety and affordability. He noted that some young people rely on e-bikes because they can’t afford cars, and said residents and officials should have a broader conversation about safety and regulations. “I just need to feel like there’s some common ground,” he said.
Brown also wants to focus on senior residents. He pointed to a fire and flooding at a senior housing complex on Elmont Road that he said displaced residents and left families looking for answers. If elected, he said he would examine how senior housing is structured and determine whether residents need a more direct line to county government.
Another idea Brown has discussed is creating greater cooperation among civic associations throughout the area. Elmont has several separate civic groups, making it difficult at times, he said, to establish common priorities.
Following up on his 2025 campaign, in which he lost to Solages, Brown said he is focusing heavily on social media and direct community engagement to reach residents who may not regularly follow local politics.
“I think it’s time for new leadership in our community,” Brown said. “We have to have standards.”
