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Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is going to deliver his state of the county address. It's happening tonight, and we've been talking with local leaders on both sides of the aisle about what they think he will focus on this evening. And joining us from our newsroom right now is Democratic legislator Arnie Drucker. Thanks so much for joining us, Arnie. Good morning. What can we expect happening today? Well, he's probably going to talk about affordability, and that everybody here in Nassau County is doing great. But he's obviously not been speaking to his constituents who will tell you something else. Nassau County residents pay the highest property taxes in the nation and fees and fines, some of which have been ruled illegal. Um, these are, these are signs that we're not doing OK. And, um, you know, I'm sure that that's what he's gonna be boasting about, but really is not the case. He's probably gonna also talk about how he's managing Nassau County's finances so well. But meanwhile, our budget, uh, that he put forth, is filled with smoke and mirrors and is using crucial COVID relief money that was designed to help struggling families and small businesses. He's using that to plug budget gap holes, and that's really to tell you not the proper way financially to run a county. Um, he's gonna tell you how he fixed our broken assessment system, tax assessment system, which is the opposite is true. He's perpetrating a, a false, inaccurate, dysfunctional, uh, assessment system which constantly every year people have to grieve their taxes. That's not the way to govern. Uh, he's going to boast a lot about how we live in the safest county in America. Now, that's more than a slogan. And by the way, we've designated the safest county in America long before Blakeman came into office under Laura Corn too. So, uh, but that's more than a slogan. All right. You know, we have a serious staffing problem on the police department and Chief and Commissioner Ryder does an amazing job with what he has and how he deploys his, his force, but we have a detective shortage and what is Blake been doing? He's diverting detectives, crucial detectives to go help border enforcement and And ICE to disrupt and cause chaos on Long Island families. That's not the way to govern. Legislator Drucker, do Democrats feel more of pressure on them, I guess, so to speak, considering that Blakeman is running for governor. So there's more eyes on him now and his speech tonight and the rebuttal to that. Well, certainly, yes, because, you know, when he was running for reelection. Uh, he was talking about how he's gonna concentrate on Nassau County and, and focus on what we need and how to help us. And the day after he got elected, he's already thinking about Albany and running for governor. And where's the focus here in Nassau County? He's got his eyes set on, on other things, and he's not paying attention to the problems that we're experiencing here in Nassau County. All right, Legislator Arnie Drucker, appreciate your time. Thanks for joining us this morning. You're welcome, Rich. Good to see you.

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Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is going to deliver his state of the county address that's happening tonight, and we've been talking to local leaders from both sides of the aisle about what they think he will focus on. And joining us right now is Hempstead town supervisor Republican John Ferretti. John, good to see you. Thanks for coming in here this morning. There may be more eyes on this state of the county address than any Blakeman has delivered so far because he's also running for governor. What do you expect to hear from Blakeman tonight? Good morning, Rich. Good morning, Jen. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Well, I expect, uh, the county executive Blakeman to touch on his many accomplishments over his 1st 4 years. First and foremost, affordability. Affordability here in Nassau County. Bruce Blakeman eliminated a $150 million planned tax hike by his predecessor and has not raised taxes one single penny his entire four years as county executive. And what's more, he did this while getting seven bond upgrades during his tenure as county executive. Truly an incredible accomplishment. I'd expect him to talk about public safety, the fact that Nassau County under his leadership is the safest county in America. He's added police to the streets. Dangerous crimes are down over 10% in Nassau County since Bruce Blakeman took office. And I expect him to talk about his accomplishments in the community of Nassau County, for example, partnering with Tunnel to Towers to transform the Long Beach Motor Inn into a facility where over 50 veterans will be housed. Tunnel to Towers is going to be investing $20 million into that facility into Nassau County. And doing it for the veterans, an incredible partnership that county executive Blakeman has started. So I expect him to hit on all of his accomplishments through his 1st 4 years, and I'm hoping to see many more. You mentioned a lot of key topics there. Are there any that stand out to you that you would like to hear from Blakeman about benefiting the town of Hempstead? Yes, well, affordability, you know, with regard to the town of Hempstead, Bruce Blakeman not raising property taxes in 4 years and eliminating a planned $150 million tax increase is something that benefits all Nassau residents, including town of Hempstead residents, and I followed in his footsteps by cutting taxes in the town of Hempstead $5 million in my first year. All right, John Ferretti, Hempstead town supervisor, appreciate your insight. Thanks for joining us. Thank you.

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News 12 met with local leaders on both sides of the aisle to discuss what topics they think he will cover.

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