Josh Lafazan

Josh Lafazan
Lafazan in 2022
Member of the Nassau County Legislature
from the 18th district
In office
January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2023
Preceded byDonald MacKenzie
Succeeded bySamantha Goetz
Personal details
Born (1994-01-29) January 29, 1994 (age 30)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationNassau Community College (AA)
Cornell University (BS)
Harvard University (MEd)
University of Pennsylvania (EdD)
WebsiteOfficial website

Joshua Alexander Lafazan (born January 29, 1994) is an American politician and a former member of the Nassau County Legislature from the 18th district. When elected to the Syosset School Board in 2012, he was the youngest elected official in New York State. He was a candidate to become the Democratic nominee for New York's 3rd congressional district in the 2022 United States House of Representatives election.

Education

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Lafazan attended Nassau Community College and received the State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence.[1] Lafazan attended Cornell University for his Bachelor of Science degree and Harvard University for his Master of Education degree.[2] He is pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania.[3]

Career

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As a high school senior at Syosset High School, he started a volunteer rideshare program to prevent drunk driving to drive teenagers home safely.[4][5]

During the latter part of his senior year of high school, Lafazan campaigned for a trustee position on the Syosset Board of Education. In May 2012, he won with 82 percent of the vote.[6] He was the first high school student elected to the school board[7] and upon his election, the youngest elected official in New York State.[8] He was re-elected to the board in 2015 for another three-year term.[9] Lafazan resigned from his position on the school board in 2017 after becoming an elected legislator, as required by county charter.[10]

Lafazan was named on the Long Island Press Power List of the 50 most influential people on Long Island in 2012.[11] He published Political Gladiators: How Millennials Can Navigate the 21st Century Political Minefield and WIN! in November 2015, a book about the experiences of other politicians who were elected at a young age.[12]

In 2017, Lafazan ran for the Nassau County Legislature's 18th district against incumbent Republican Donald MacKenzie[13] and won with 56 percent of the vote.[14] Lafazan was re-elected to the county legislature in 2019 and 2021.[15] In both elections he also accepted the ballot line of the New York Conservative Party.[16] As a county legislator, Lafazan authored and passed "Timothy's Law" in August 2018, which established a county hotline for substance abuse intervention. Related legislation would create a smartphone application with resources for substance abuse, such as treatment center locations.[17] His proposed "Dignity for Heroes" package marked veterans as a protected status under the county's human rights law.[18]

Lafazan teaches a course on how to run for public office as a young candidate as adjunct professor at Long Island University.[19][20]

In 2020 Lafazan accepted at least $50,000 in loans from billionaire investor Bryan Lawrence to make tuition payments; his 2022 opponent Robert Zimmerman sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission requesting a probe over the loan.[21][22]

In December 2021, Lafazan announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2022 race for New York's 3rd congressional district.[23][24][25] He committed to term limits for the US Congress.[26] Lafazan courted, and received substantial support from, cryptocurrency interests including Sam Bankman-Fried's Protect Our Future.[16][27][28] He came in third in the primary.[29]

In November 2023, Lafazan lost his re-election bid for the Nassau County Legislature to his Republican challenger, Samantha A Goetz.[30][31]

References

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  1. ^ "Local Resident Receives State University of N.Y. Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence". Nassau Community College (Press release). Garden City, NY. April 29, 2014. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017.
  2. ^ Novick, Susan M. (September 27, 2019). "This Politician Lives in His Mom's Basement and He's Campaigning on It". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  3. ^ "Meet Josh". www.joshlafazan.com.
  4. ^ "Syosset Student Provides 'Saferide' Home". Syosset, NY Patch. December 15, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  5. ^ Svitak, Adora (2020), Speak Up!: Speeches by young people to empower and inspire, White Lion Publishing, ISBN 9781781319505
  6. ^ "Syosset Votes 18-Year-Old to School Board". Syosset, NY Patch. May 16, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  7. ^ "Syosset's youngest trustee: 'Feeling great'". Newsday. May 16, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  8. ^ "New Syosset School Board Member Is NY's Youngest Elected Official". CBS New York. May 16, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  9. ^ "Results of the 2015-2016 budget vote, and school board election". Syosset Schools. May 19, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  10. ^ "Lafazan resigns from Syosset ed board - The Island Now". The Island Now. January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  11. ^ "Joshua Lafazan, Syosset School Board Member". Long Island Press. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  12. ^ "'Political Gladiators' book offers tips to Millennials". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 30, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  13. ^ "23-year-old to run for Nassau Legislature". Newsday. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  14. ^ "Election Results". Nassau County, NY - Official Website. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  15. ^ "Oyster Bay Election: Council Members Pledge 'Honest Government'". Oyster Bay, NY Patch. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  16. ^ a b Ahlman, Austin. "With Progressives Split, Rep. Josh Gottheimer May Be Gaining a New Ally in Congress". The Intercept. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  17. ^ "New bills support treatment access for substance abusers in Nassau County". Long Island Herald – Glen Head. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  18. ^ "Dignity For Heroes: Long Island Lawmaker Pushes For Bill Protecting Veterans From Homelessness". CBS Local. April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  19. ^ "Nassau lawmaker goes back to school as professor". Newsday. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  20. ^ "Joshua Lafazan". Forbes.
  21. ^ Calder, Rich (August 13, 2022). "FEC asked to probe Long Island Congressional candidate over affiliation with billionaire couple". Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  22. ^ "Josh Lafazan had billionaire couple cover at least $50K of college payments". August 6, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  23. ^ "Josh Lafazan, New York's youngest elected official, is running for Congress". The Jerusalem Post. December 14, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  24. ^ Duffy, Brandon (January 11, 2022). "Joshua Lafazan raises over $450,000 for Congressional run - News".
  25. ^ Ahlman, Austin (August 18, 2022). "WITH PROGRESSIVES SPLIT, REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER MAY BE GAINING A NEW ALLY IN CONGRESS". The Intercept. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  26. ^ U.S. Term Limits Amendments Pledge (PDF), www.termlimits.com, July 13, 2022
  27. ^ "Crypto cash PACs a punch for Gillen, Lafazan?". Newsday. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  28. ^ "A cryptocurrency billionaire is spending big in New York congressional primaries". City & State NY. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  29. ^ "New York Third Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. August 23, 2022 – via NYTimes.com.
  30. ^ "Nassau GOP keeps 12-7 majority in county legislature". Newsday. November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  31. ^ Malaszczyk, Michael (November 7, 2023). "Nassau County Legislature: Josh Lafazan Loses Re-Election Bid, Republicans Maintain Majority". www.longislandpress.com. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
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