It's time for Bruce Blakeman to get back to his day job

Only a year ago Republican Bruce Blakeman won reelection as Nassau County executive, with 55.6% of the vote. On Tuesday, Blakeman lost his bid for New York State governor by garnering less than 40% against incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul.

When Blakeman announced for the top job last Dec. 9, as widely expected, he had not even been sworn in for that second term in the county. Essentially, he left his administration in Mineola to be run by a high-ranking deputy and other aides.

Perhaps in retrospect Blakeman should have resigned from the Nassau post or forgone last year's reelection. But that's water under the Atlantic Beach Bridge, you might say.

During his recent out-of-county adventure, Blakeman acted as a suburban New York booster for President Donald Trump on most issues, from supporting immigration raids to opposing green energy programs.

Now that Blakeman's out-of-county experience has run its course, it is time for him to resume the day job to which he has been elected to serve through December 2028. He can start with unfinished business stemming from campaign promises he made when first elected five years ago.

Nassau County's property taxes were among the highest in the nation when he took office and remain so. During the 2021 campaign in which he defeated incumbent Democrat Laura Curran, Blakeman promised to fix and reform the broken and confusing system by which those property taxes are assessed. It's well beyond time for him to push to make some progress.

Last year, Hochul assumed control of Nassau University Medical Center and its parent corporation, by inserting the changeover in budget language. Blakeman has declined to name two appointees to the newly structured 11-member board.

With the campaign over, Blakeman can easily suspend his political feud with the governor and choose to make the best of his advisory role in running NUMC. What's to lose?

Instead of keeping Democrats in the Nassau legislative minority shut out of the oversight and budget process as much as possible, he could at least make county processes more transparent. Perhaps there are productive ideas to be heard from his partisan rivals.

Can Blakeman seek out and suggest practical new usage for the still-languishing Nassau Hub site? Or if he wants a substantial role in Albany, can he bond with other municipalities, perhaps through the New York State Association of Counties, as chief of the sixth-most populated county? What ideas can he pursue on affordability and housing?

If Blakeman chooses to leave office before his term ends, the Nassau County Legislature names an interim appointee through the next general election. But if he decides to return to his day job, Blakeman must get straight to it. If not, he should say right away he isn't staying so the county can move on. He owes no less to the public that elected him barely 12 months ago.