Dear Neighbor:

As the leader of Nassau County’s Democratic Legislative delegation, I am so proud to lead a team that stands together to fight for our constituents and work as one in the pursuit of good government.

Prior to April 23, the administration of County Executive Bruce Blakeman had been blocking over $1.3 million in grant funding for first responders in Democratic districts. Meanwhile, he approved 34 projects, totaling $2.5 million, for Republican-backed projects - just like the ones we have proposed. You read that correctly - 34 to nothing.

The political bias was blatant, and we as a caucus made a decision to confront the County Executive and demand that he fund our first responders. We achieved this by leveraging our vote for the capital plan - which requires a 13-member supermajority. A month later, after drawing our line in the sand, we secured those grants and passed the Fiscal Year 2025 capital plan, which delivers vital infrastructure investments across our County.

This was a major victory, but the work of holding this administration accountable continues. My colleagues on the Public Safety committee are persisting in their legal demand for the dissolution of the County Executive’s reckless and unlawful armed militia - and long-overdue transparency and clarity as to how we got here in the first place.

We are also keenly focused on combating the opioid drug crisis and pushing the County Executive to end his years of delays in the release of opioid lawsuit settlement funds to agencies that are providing key prevention, treatment and recovery resources. Responding to the administration’s dismal performance thus far - of nearly $100 million received, just $5.3 million has been spent - the Legislature approved hiring an outside firm to administer a grant portal that will aid in delivering these life-saving resources more expeditiously. It is imperative that we turn this program around and get this money doing what it should have been doing all along - helping people on the road to long-term, sustainable recovery from addiction and substance abuse.

In these challenging times for the world and our nation, I frequently look for the good and draw inspiration from people who are making a difference - and I won’t stop fighting to make Nassau County a better place for all of us.

Sincerely,

Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Minority Leader
Nassau County Legislature, District 11

If I can ever be of any help, please contact my office at 516-571-6211 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..