NEW YORK — The Chair of the New York State Democratic Party said he would be filing a complaint with the state board of elections Friday, claiming Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman had used taxpayer funds for a political venture when he hosted a rally alongside President Donald Trump two weeks ago.
In his complaint, Party Chair Jay Jacobs claimed that Blakeman had "exploited" his position as county executive to "deploy county funds, facilities and personnel" to advance his candidacy for governor at the rally, which saw multiple Republican candidates for office speak at the county's police academy.
"Although the event was billed [as] an official White House function and the President's speech referenced public safety policy, the truth is the event served as a GOP political rally coordinated by Bruce Blakeman – the incumbent Nassau County Executive and Republican candidate for Governor," Jacobs said. "The Blakeman-Trump collaboration placed the Republican political love fest, on Nassau County government property, in front of a sea of County uniformed 'police . . . and other law enforcement personnel,' serving as a visual backdrop to applaud on cue for Blakeman and the Republican slate."
In a statement Friday, Blakeman called the move a "Hail Mary by the Hochul team."
"Of course Kathy Hochul would criticize the president for coming to tour our outstanding law enforcement facilities and honor law enforcement professionals," Blakeman said.
At the Aug. 14 rally, Trump praised Nassau County police and called Blakeman a "winner," and credited the county executive's cooperation with ICE for Nassau County's safety record, with both Trump and Blakeman referring to Nassau County as "the safest county in America."
While that collaboration with ICE has been dissolved for the time being, Blakeman said at the rally that it had led to the arrest of over 2,000 migrants with criminal records in one year.
In a Truth Social post after the rally, Trump called the Aug. 14 event, "a Rally in Nassau County in honor of Bruce Blakeman, who is running for Governor of New York."
"He is a great person, a great politician and, if elected, will be the best Governor in the History of New York," Trump wrote of Blakeman.
Also speaking at the event were Republican congressional candidates Jeanine Driscoll and Mike LiPetri, who are challenging Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi for their respective seats in congress.
As for Jacobs, the state democratic chair asked the state's Division of Election Law Enforcement (DELE) and Public Campaign Finance Board (PCFB) to investigate what he called, "unreported, over-the-limit in-kind contributions to the Blakeman for New York campaign."
Jacobs also asked the state authorities to determine the "fair market value" of the government resources expended at the police academy event, and sought to have them "deem the [Blakeman] campaign unfit to receive public matching dollars in light of the candidate's unconstitutional act of depriving Nassau County residents of valuable resources and converting them into campaign resources."
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Long Island Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.