WHEREAS, Congressman George Anthony Devolder Santos (“Congressman Santos” or “George Santos”) is a member of the United States House of Representatives, serving in the 118th Congress and representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses the entire Town of North Hempstead; and
WHEREAS, prior to Election Day 2022, it was known that George Santos spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington D.C. on January 5, 2021, and claimed “they did to me what they did to Donald J. Trump, they stole my election” when referencing his 2020 congressional loss to Congressman Tom Suozzi; and
WHEREAS, it was also known that George Santos attended a rally at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021 prior to the insurrection at the Capitol Building and that he later claimed to have written a “nice check” to support January 6 defendants with their legal fees; and
WHEREAS, on or about April 1, 2022, the Daily Beast reported that George Santos had been employed at Harbor City Capital, a company that the Securities and Exchange Commission accused of operating as a Ponzi scheme; and
WHEREAS, on or about September 26, 2022, Supervisor Jennifer DeSena publicly endorsed George Santos calling him “a friend and a true leader”; and
WHEREAS, in October 2022, the North Shore Leader, in its endorsement of George Santos’ opponent, called George Santos a “fabulist- a fake” and, among other things, questioned George Santos’ veracity and his campaign finances; and
WHEREAS, following his election in November 2022, on December 19, 2022, the New York Times published an article exposing unsubstantiated claims made by George Santos regarding, among other things, his education, prior employment, evictions and real estate investments, and disclosure forms; and
WHEREAS, after the New York Times article was published, Congressman Santos admitted to fabricating material details about his education, work experience and personal life; and
WHEREAS, in December 2022, North Hempstead Councilmembers Robert Troiano, Peter Zuckerman, Veronica Lurvey, and Mariann Dalimonte supported the call for George Santos to not be seated and resign from Congress; and
WHEREAS, on January 7, 2023, Hon. Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives with a vote from George Santos; and
WHEREAS, on January 11, 2023 Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena alongside other local Republican officials called for Congressman Santos to resign; and
WHEREAS, amid his plethora of lies, a few of Congressman Santos’ falsehoods standout as particularly egregious and hurtful to the North Hempstead community: that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack claimed his mother’s life and that his grandparents survived the Holocaust; and
WHEREAS, the Town of North Hempstead is a Long Island suburb of New York City, which was immeasurably impacted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including the immediate loss of 56 beloved residents, the enduring grief on their families and the protracted illnesses suffered by our heroic first responders; and
WHEREAS, the Town of North Hempstead is also a diverse community consisting of residents from many ethnicities and religious backgrounds, including a large Jewish population. Of those Jewish residents, there are many who had actual relatives survive and/or perish in the Holocaust; and
WHEREAS, inclusive in our diverse North Hempstead community is a large minority population; and
WHEREAS, for several years, the Town has been engaged in the “Not in Our Town” campaign to bring awareness to and stamp out discrimination, hatred and bullying in all their forms; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Santos’ apparent flashing of a white supremacist symbol in the House Chamber is repugnant to North Hempstead residents, is exceptionally offensive to our minority community and is unbecoming of an elected representative—it is also antithetical to the Not in Our Town campaign; and
WHEREAS, a multitude of law enforcement agencies on the federal, state and local level have commenced investigations into Congressman Santos’ finances and campaign disclosures—and Congressman Santos is entitled to due process with respect to those allegations; and
WHEREAS, irrespective of partisanship and criminal investigations, the residents of the Town of North Hempstead expect their Congressional representative to possess integrity, to be a decent and honest human being, and to effectively serve the public interest in our Nation’s Capital; and
WHEREAS, the residents of the Town of North Hempstead are not being effectively represented in Congress following Congressman Santos’ purported voluntary resignation from House committee assignments; and
WHEREAS, the Town relies on its Congressional representative to advocate for and provide federal resources to the Town, including federal funding for the Town’s award-winning Project Independence program—all of which is at risk without an effective Congressional representative; and
WHEREAS, after all of his lies, and despite his pronouncement, Congressman Santos is incapable of providing “federal level representation without distraction”; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Santos has failed to live up to the standards that his constituents expect of him; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Santos has irredeemably breached the public trust, has lost the confidence of his constituency and is incapable of effectively performing his Congressional duties; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Santos should resign from Congress; and
WHEREAS, to date, Congressman Santos has refused to resign his office; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, the House of Representatives has the authority to expel a Member with the concurrence of two-thirds; and
WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of North Hempstead, on behalf of its residents, urges the United States House of Representatives to expel Congressman Santos from its ranks forthwith.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, that based on all of the lies, the breach of the public trust and the inability to effectively govern, the Town Board of the Town of North Hempstead, on behalf of its residents, urges the United States House of Representatives to expel Congressman Santos from its ranks forthwith; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Town Board urges the other members of the Long Island Congressional Delegation (Congressman Nick LaLota of the 1st Congressional District, Congressman Andrew Garbarino of the 2nd Congressional District and Congressman Anthony D’Esposito of the 4th Congressional District) to take any such action as may be required to pursue the expulsion of Congressman Santos; and be it further
RESOLVED, that Town Clerk shall send a copy of this resolution to the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, party whips, the Long Island Congressional Delegation and to the Office of Congressman Santos at the addresses listed in the attached distribution list no later than February 9, 2023.
Dated: Manhasset, New York
February 7, 2023
The vote on the foregoing resolution was recorded as follows:
Ayes: Councilperson Dalimonte, Councilperson Lurvey, Councilperson Troiano, Councilperson Zuckerman, Councilperson Walsh, Supervisor DeSena.
Nays: Councilperson Adhami.
cc: Town Attorney Town Clerk |