Laura Curran
Laura Curran is a Canadian-born American politician who served as the 9th county executive of Nassau County, New York from 2018 to 2021, the first woman to hold the office. Curran worked as a reporter before serving in the Nassau County Legislature.
Early life and education
Curran was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. She moved frequently as a child, and before turning 18, lived in Belgium, Pembroke Pines, Florida, Five Towns, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.In 1989, Curran earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College.
Career
Curran previously served in the Nassau County Legislature from 2014 to 2017 and as a local school board member in her hometown of Nassau County, New York|Baldwin]. Prior to holding elective office, Curran worked as a reporter for the New York Daily News and New York Post.Nassau County Executive
In 2017, Curran won a September 12 primary against Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who switched parties from Republican to Democratic.In the general election, Curran won a contentious campaign against former New York State Senator and Mineola Village Mayor Jack Martins. The then sitting Nassau County Executive, Ed Mangano, had decided not to run for re-election following an indictment on federal corruption charges.
The campaign between Curran and Martins touched on gang violence and runaway property taxes, but ultimately centered on ethics. When polls closed on election night Curran, an underdog in the historically Republican Nassau County, had won 52 percent to 48 percent. She is the third Democrat to hold the position in 80 years.
Curran was sworn into office on January 1, 2018, by then-Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo on the steps of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building.
On November 16, 2021, Laura Curran conceded the race for Nassau County Executive to Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman and left office on December 31, 2021. She attributed her loss to her name being on the same ballot as State Senator Todd Kaminsky, Democrat of Long Beach, for Nassau County District Attorney. He was the author of the bail reform law that disgruntled many Long Islanders.
Administration and policies
Among Curran's first hires were former Long Island Rail Road President Helena Williams and former New York City Budget Director under Mayor Michael Bloomberg Mark Page. Williams was the railroad's longest-serving president in several decades, president of the nation's busiest commuter railroad, and the first woman to run any Metropolitan Transportation Authority agency. Page, as director of the city's Office of Management and Budget under NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, oversaw the city's finances through the September 11 terror attacks, the Great Recession, and Super Storm Sandy.Other early hires included an assistant state attorney general and former special counsel to the New York State Attorney General Public Integrity Bureau to enforce new ethics and procurement reform policies. Curran also appointed the first permanent commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department in more than four years. Curran's appointment, Patrick Ryder, previously served as commanding officer of the Asset Forfeiture and Intelligence Unit. Within the department, Ryder was largely credited with widespread adoption of new advances in technology to assist in crime reduction. Examples include Nassau's successful use of gunfire locator technology to reduce gun crime.
Assessment and tax relief
Under Curran's predecessor, Nassau County froze the tax rolls in 2011. The rolls would remain frozen for nearly seven years. According to an exposè, the policy resulted in a $1.7 billion shift in the property tax burden that largely benefited wealthy residents over low-income, middle-class and elderly residents. In effect, the policy created a "separate and unequal" tax assessment and challenge system that benefited those who frequently challenged their annual property tax assessment over others who did not or were unable to do so.To address the issue Curran issued an executive order unfreezing the tax rolls in March 2018 and signed legislation that would allow for the reassessment of all county properties by 2019. Additionally, Curran introduced a proposal providing tax relief to the homeowners who shouldered the majority of the tax burden shift under the 2011 freeze. The proposal called for a five-year, partial tax exemption that would be granted to owner of homes built before the freeze began in 2010, are assessed at a high level, and are worth $1 million or less. The resulting exemption would primarily benefit middle-income property owners who have not challenged their assessments successfully since the 2011 freeze and resultant tax shift.