After an intense local election, with campaigning in some instances having little to do with specific plans for managing Long Island's nexus of counties and towns, there's a deep-seated hope that those elected will do the hard work of governing.

Nassau and Suffolk counties share many of the same challenges and needs, but each also has its own homegrown issues. Both newly reelected Nassau County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman and Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, whose current term ends in 2027, know the specifics. The legislatures and the town supervisors, all posts dominated by incumbents and most of them Republican, do, too.

Affordability and quality of life are the main threads that ran through all of these campaigns. But both counties will face significant challenges — particu

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