Bruce Blakeman
A few months ago, I was talking with a rabbi who told me something that has stayed with me. He said, “Bruce, people aren’t just worried anymore. They’re exhausted.”
Exhausted from wondering if their kids will be safe wearing a Star of David on campus. Exhausted from opening electric bills that seem to climb every month. Exhausted by headline after headline of antisemitic hate crimes. He was right.
Over the last few years, I’ve heard that same concern from people across New York, not just rabbis, but parents worried about their children’s future, business owners struggling to keep their doors open, Holocaust survivors who never imagined feeling unsafe here, young couples wondering if they can afford to build a life in the state they love, and grandparents who feel like the New York they helped create is slipping away. Those conversations, and the people behind them, are why I decided to run for governor of New York.
The greatest challenge facing New York today isn’t just crime or antisemitism. It’s affordability. Families are doing everything right and still falling behind. In fact, after billions in new taxes from Kathy Hochul, New Yorkers now pay the highest taxes in the nation.
As governor, I will deliver the largest middle-class income tax cut in state history and eliminate the state income tax on the first $50,000 earned by single filers and the first $100,000 earned by married couples filing jointly. I trust hardworking New Yorkers to spend their money better than Albany does.
I’m committed to cutting utility bills in half. Today, New Yorkers pay about 70 percent more for electricity than the rest of the country. Much of that isn’t because electricity costs more to produce. It’s because Kathy Hochul piled taxes, mandates, and fees onto every bill. I’ll put a stop to Hochul’s energy taxes and explore all forms of affordable energy as governor, while protecting the environment.
I also believe parents, not politicians, should have the final say in their children’s education. That’s why I support expanding education tax credits to help families who sacrifice to send their children to yeshivas and other nonpublic schools. Every parent deserves the freedom to choose the education that best reflects their values without being punished financially for doing so.
As Nassau County’s first Jewish County Executive, protecting the Jewish community has never been a political issue for me. It’s personal. When masked protesters targeted Jewish communities and hid their identities while intimidating others, I wasn’t interested in issuing another carefully crafted statement. We acted, prohibiting masks used to conceal identity during threatening or criminal conduct. We also prohibited demonstrations immediately outside houses of worship because no family should have to walk past angry protesters to pray. Leadership means acting before it’s popular, not after it’s safe.
Unfortunately, too many Jewish New Yorkers no longer feel that same sense of urgency from Albany. Instead of confronting antisemitism with moral clarity, Governor Kathy Hochul has too often stood in lockstep with the political forces that have excused it, minimized it, or looked the other way. Many lifelong Democrats tell me they no longer recognize the party they grew up supporting. They feel abandoned by leaders who are more concerned about appeasing activists than protecting families.
At the end of our conversation, the rabbi left me with words I’ve carried ever since: “Be that little bit of light to dispel much of the darkness.” This campaign isn’t about left versus right. It’s about whether New York remains a place where families can afford to live, worship freely, raise their children safely, and believe the next generation will have a brighter future than the last. That’s the New York I believe in. And that’s the New York I’m fighting to restore. I’m Bruce Blakeman, and I hope to earn your support this Election Day.
