The Nassau County executive, Thomas Suozzi, said he backs Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to bring apartments to the World Trade Center site, an idea that has become a point of strife in the redevelopment effort.

Speaking to a group of business leaders, Mr. Suozzi also said he would not tap a running mate, something his gubernatorial opponent, Eliot Spitzer, has done. “I’ve got a hard enough time telling people who I am,” Mr. Suozzi joked.

The event, a breakfast sponsored by Crain’s New York Business, was an important stop for the underdog candidate, who is up against Mr. Spitzer’s well-stocked campaign war chest, dominating poll numbers, and Democratic Party backing. A political analyst, George Arzt, said it was a good chance for Mr. Suozzi to introduce himself to the “movers and shakers” who can drum up donations.

Mr. Suozzi pounded home a theme he has used since the first day of his campaign: that as the Nassau County executive he turned around his local government, showing he is the candidate with experience.

He also took several digs at Mr. Spitzer, saying that “both he and the health department have not done a sufficient job in rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse” in Medicaid.

Mr. Suozzi said he was in favor of the government using eminent domain for economic development and that he would not raise state income taxes if elected.

He also said that while he thinks the city is entitled to billions of dollars more in education funds, the city also should pony up some of the money and unions should offer “productivity savings” rather than leaving Albany on the hook for the whole thing.