Joshua Alexander Lafazan | General Election - Nov. 7, 2017

Lafazan said he is running for the legislature because, he said, “I can be the fresh voice that Nassau so desperately needs.” He said that “the citizenry of Nassau County is not being served by its government,” and, he added, “our political discourse is dominated by stories of indictments and corruption.” Lafazan said, if elected, he would work to create a county inspector general position. He would also work to “cap political contributions from vendors receiving contracts, and eliminate taxpayer-funded mailers poorly disguised as government updates.” Lafazan said county government should be discussing ways “to stimulate our local economies and downtowns, repair our roads, pay down our debt and keep future generations here on Long Island.” He said he will propose legislation imposing term limits on elected officials. Lafazan added, “Having served for four years on the Heroin Prevention Task Force, I also want to make tackling the heroin and opioid epidemic a legislative priority.”

Lafazan, 23, of Woodbury, is running on the Democratic, Working Families, Independence, Women’s Equality and Reform party lines. Lafazan is a 2012 graduate of Syosset High School. He became one of the youngest elected officials in the history of New York State in 2012 when at age 18 he was elected to the Syosset school board. He was re-elected in 2015 and is currently serving his second term. Lafazan graduated last year with a bachelor’s degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University, and in May he earned a master’s degree in education policy and management from Harvard University. Lafazan works as a title insurance sales representative for Beta Abstract in Oceanside. He is a TEDx Talk speaker and an author. He is not married.