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]
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]
