"earned high marks from independent institutions for his signature achievement, the resuscitation of Nassau's finances." While in office, Suozzi cut spending and reduced borrowing and debt. He also oversaw 11 county bond upgrades over two years, eliminated deficits in Nassau, and accumulated surpluses. In 2005, Governing Magazine named Suozzi one of its Public Officials of the Year, calling him "the man who spearheaded Nassau County, New York's, remarkable turnaround from the brink of fiscal disaster." According to The New York Times, Suozzi garnered praise for social services like his "no wrong door" program, which centralized access to social services. Suozzi lost the 2009 county executive election to Ed Mangano. After working in the private sector as an attorney, he announced that he would seek a rematch against Mangano in 2013. He attacked Mangano for "presiding over a decline in the county" while also emphasizing that, while he was county executive, Suozzi had eight years of balanced budgets and reduced crime. In November, Mangano defeated Suozzi, 59% to 41%. 2006 New York gubernatorial campaign Suozzi declared his candidacy for governor of New York in the Democratic primary against Eliot Spitzer on February 25, 2006. The bid appeared from the start to be something of a long shot given Spitzer's reputation as a "corporate crusader", though Suozzi often pointed out that he prevailed as a long shot before when he first ran for Nassau County Executive. Few prominent Democrats apart from Nassau County Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs supported his bid; most of New York's Democratic legislators and mayors campaigned for Spitzer. One of Suozzi's biggest supporters was Victor Rodriguez, founder of the now disbanded Voter Rights Party. Rodriguez eventually became the lead field organizer for Suozzi's Albany campaign office. The campaign was funded in part by Home Depot co-founder Kenneth Langone, former NYSE CEO Richard Grasso, David Mack of the MTA, and many people on Wall Street whom Spitzer had investigated and prosecuted. On June 13, 2006, Suozzi spoke before the New York State Conference of Mayors along with Spitzer and John Faso. Suozzi received a standing ovation from the crowd of mayors. On July 6, Suozzi announced to his followers that he had collected enough petitions to place himself on the primary ballot. During a debate, he said he had presidential aspirations. On August 7, after much speculation, Suozzi announced that he would not seek an independent line were he