Laura Curran
Laura Curran served as Nassau County Executive from Jan. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2021, the first woman to hold the office. Prior to becoming County Executive, Curran served two terms as a Nassau County Legislator, working across the political aisle to successfully implement programs and pass laws. Curran also served on the Baldwin School Board from 2010 to 2014, holding positions of Board President and Trustee. Before entering her career in public service, Curran was a reporter for the New York Daily News and New York Post.
As Nassau County Executive, Curran represented more than 1.3 million residents and prioritized restoring trust and fiscal integrity to a County government long plagued by corruption and deficits. She implemented unprecedented ethics reforms, bringing transparency and controls to County contracts. She directed a government of more than 7,500 employees, including six unions, and created balanced budgets in excess of $3.3 billion, earning the County’s first bond upgrade in 15 years. As County Executive, she also successfully advocated for new economic development and downtown revitalization projects across the County, helping increase the number of good-paying jobs and providing additional housing options for residents across income levels. Following through on a campaign promise, Curran fixed a broken property assessment system that amassed enormous debt while unfairly burdening half of taxpayers.
Under Curran’s watch as County Executive, major crime in Nassau County hit historic lows, thanks to a continued commitment to community policing, which she built on by reopening two police precincts and constructing a state-of-the-art police academy. Under Curran’s leadership, Nassau County was named the safest community in America by U.S. News & World Report for two consecutive years. Curran also worked to reform policing and launched the county’s first police-body camera initiative.
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit Nassau County, she led the County’s response to protect and inform residents, while maintaining essential County operations and advocating for businesses and schools. To protect residents and the economy from the impact of the pandemic, she focused on vaccinating as many people as possible by utilizing the County’s award-winning Department of Health and leveraging partnerships with hospital networks to build a robust vaccine infrastructure. Because of her work to inform residents and provide equal access to the vaccine, Nassau County has had the highest percentage of vaccinated adults in New York State — second highest in the nation among large counties — without imposing mandates.
County Executive Curran made a commitment to making Nassau County a better place to live and work for all residents, even while navigating Nassau through the pandemic. Under County Executive Curran’s leadership, the County repaved a record amount of road miles, launched a massive sewage treatment project to clean up coastal waters, increased accessibility and language access of government services, bolstered programs for the County’s large veterans population, and dedicated significant funds to revitalizing County parks — all without raising property taxes. Over the course of her term, County Executive Curran led with dedication to the people of Nassau County and remained a tireless advocate for Nassau’s neighborhoods and businesses, providing decisive leadership while protecting residents’ health and safety.