He previously served as a commissioner for the New York-New Jersey Port Authority as well as a Nassau County legislator and Hempstead town councilman.
His mother, Betty, served in the Women's Army Corps and his father was a merchant mariner and later Naval Reserve officer.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from Arizona State University and a Juris Doctor from the California Western School of Law.
[7] In 1993, federal district court judge Arthur D. Spatt ruled Nassau County's Board of Supervisors to be in violation of one man, one vote.
[9] In June 2001, Blakeman was appointed by Governor George Pataki as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
[14] In the 2010 special election, Blakeman ran for United States Senate, but lost the Republican primary to former congressman Joe DioGuardi.
[7] In 2017, Blakeman joined fellow Republican councilwoman Erin King-Sweeney in endorsing Democratic challenger Laura Gillen in the race for Hempstead Town Supervisor.
Shortly after taking office, he issued an executive order permitting the Nassau County Police Department to disclose when a person released without bail is rearrested.
[28][29] On January 11, 2023, Blakeman joined Nassau Republican Chairman Joseph Cairo and other elected officials to call for the resignation of Congressman George Santos.
Blakeman pledged not to work with Santos, criticizing him for lying about his resume, and falsely claiming his grandparents were Holocaust survivors.
[32][33] On May 24, 2023, Blakeman held a rally and press conference in Manhattan in support of West Islip resident Daniel Penny.
Penny, a former Marine, was arrested by the NYPD on a charge of fatally choking Jordan Neely, a homeless man who was allegedly acting in a threatening manner, aboard a New York City subway train on May 1 in Chinatown.
[34][35] While walking in the 2023 Stewart Manor 4 July parade, a 10-year-old girl from Franklin Square threw a water balloon at Blakeman from 100 feet away, striking him in the head.
[44][45] In July 2024, the New York Times reported that Blakeman had recruited 75 people for a force of "special deputies" to deploy during emergencies.
[53] The deal passed the Nassau County Legislature with a vote of 17-1 with one recusal to transfer the Coliseum lease to the Sands.
[54] Hofstra University filed suit against the deal, claiming that the county violated the state open meetings law by not adequately providing enough transparent, public hearings for the project.
Blakeman and Kopel accused Poser of colluding with Hard Rock International, a direct competitor for the casino license.
In a press conference beforehand, Blakeman repeatedly referred to transgender women as "bullies" and "biological males," and recommended that they join men's or co-ed teams instead.
[64] In March the Long Island Roller Rebels, represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union, filed suit against Blakeman over the order.
[64] On May 11, a state judge struck down the order on the grounds that the county executive lacked the authority to impose the ban.
[74][75] Upon taking office, he signed an executive order making masks optional, contravening the state mandate.
[81] The first arrest under this law involved a teenager, Wesslin Omar Ramirez Castillo, who was found carrying a knife and wearing a ski mask.
[82][83][84] In March 2024, Blakeman attended the wake of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller alongside Donald Trump and Eric Adams in Massapequa.
[85] Blakeman held and attended a rally for Trump at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale during September 2024, prior to the elections in November.
[91] His nephew, NYS Court Officer Tommy Jurgens, was killed in the line of duty on 9/11 while assisting in the evacuation of Tower 2 of the World Trade Center.