County Executive Biography

Steve Levy is a graduate of Sachem High School, Stony Brook University (Magna Cum Laude) and St. John’s University Law School. In 1985 Steve was elected to the County Legislature at age 26. He was Chairman of Ways and Means Committee and Deputy Presiding Officer. He served for 15 years before being elected to the State Assembly in 2000. In November 2003, Steve Levy was elected as Suffolk County’s seventh County Executive

The Levy administration lived up to its motto of professionalizing government by hiring the best and the brightest, with emphasis being placed on expertise rather than party affiliation.

Steve Levy is a fiscal conservative whose “do more with less” philosophy helped pull the county out of the $238 million budget hole he inherited upon taking office. He crafted the largest budget reduction plan in the county’s history, saving over $120 million by cutting unnecessary travel vouchers and cars doled out for political purposes, and reducing upper management salaries, including his own. This penny conscious approach helped Steve craft capital and college budgets that held the line on taxes and an operating budget that cut general fund property taxes by 2%.

Steve is making the county more affordable not only by cutting taxes but by also increasing the stock of housing through his Workforce Housing Commission that has identified numerous sites throughout Suffolk appropriate for affordable housing.

The new County Executive has also transformed a scandal ridden, dormant open space program into one of the most aggressive preservation programs in the nation. Steve banned outside business conflicts, placed the program under the guidance of a renowned environmentalist, and created a master list of five thousand acres of environmentally sensitive properties and farmland parcels targeted for acquisition and/or preservation. He also helped broker a $75 million open space bond.

As County Executive, Steve Levy cut taxes while maintaining important human services. Bus routes were increased, pre-natal service enhanced and troubled youth were given crisis intervention to prevent them from being institutionalized.

New reforms implemented in the Police Department, including schedule changes and a new narcotics unit, helped reduce crime in Suffolk by more than 9% in 2004, ranking it the safest suburban region in the nation. Levy’s reforms helped increase patrols in the 7th precinct and added extra foot patrols; all while keeping the police district budget within the tax cap parameters for the first time in five years.

The tax cuts, the enhanced services and the courteous, prompt response to constituent needs all stem from the motto that is carved in a sign greeting all visitors to the executive chambers. It reads: “We Work For You.”