Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan, at 23 years of age, became Nassau County’s youngest-ever legislator upon his election to the Nassau County Legislature in November of 2017.
He is currently serving his second term, where he represents Nassau’s 18th Legislative District.
Lafazan graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a Master’s Degree in Education Policy and Management in May 2017, and from the Cornell University ILR School with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations in May 2016. Josh is currently pursuing his Doctoral Degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
In May 2012, at the age of 18, Lafazan became one of the youngest elected officials in the history of New York State when he was elected to the Syosset School Board of Education. Josh was elected with 82% of the vote one month before he graduated from Syosset High School, and was re-elected by his constituents in 2015.
Lafazan’s community service began before he ran for the school board. In 2011, Lafazan became the founder and CEO of Safe Ride Syosset, a community outreach program dedicated to ensuring that no Syosset teenager gets behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated, or is the passenger in a car with a drunk driver.
Lafazan and his volunteers safely drove home over 350 students in 2012, and there was not a single teenage drinking and driving accident in Syosset on the nights Safe Ride was operating.
Lafazan is also a college professor, where he is the youngest faculty member at Long Island University. Lafazan’s courses teach young candidates how to run for public office in their communities, and young entrepreneurs on how to start a venture.
If re-elected, Lafazan’s priorities would be pushing for increased housing in Nassau County, carbon neutrality in the county government and addressing climate change.
Lafazan’s top three issues:
- Public safety
- Taxes and fees
- Tackling corruption
