George Santos district voters organize to ask for resignation of deputy

Residents of the district of New York that elected the son of Brazilians George Santos as deputy have been organizing to raise political pressure for his resignation. The Republican lawmaker admitted to lying about his resume and family history and became the target of investigations into campaign accounts.

With access to deputies and organized pressure, the Concerned Citizens of NY-03, as the group was christened, has been working to oust the elected politician. NY-03 is the name of the district from which Santos was elected — in the US, each district elects one congressman. Located on Long Island and straddling part of Queens, it is the richest in the city and fourth in the country, with voters having an average annual income of $179,000, according to Forbes magazine.

Jody Kass, 68, was responsible for forming the group, which has a few hundred members on social networks. “I was furious with this imposter, and we got together because we knew the district’s residents will be the most impacted,” she says. A Democratic supporter, she points out that the initiative is non-partisan.

“I cannot express how shocked, confused and worried I am,” said Republican Limor Mordo, 58, in a statement shared by the group. “We voted for a fraud. Shame on you, Mr. Santos, and shame on us if we allow you to take office.”

Santos was already known in the region since he ran for deputy in 2020, unsuccessfully, and contested the defeat. At the time, he was accused of not even living in the district. In the midterms of 2022, the local newspaper The North Shore Leader even said that he wanted to support a Republican, but that “the nominee [Santos] it’s so bizarre, unprincipled and rudimentary” that I couldn’t do it.

“He is a threat to democracy. One of the foundations of this country is a free and fair election, and that’s not what we had, with so many lies,” says Kass, reinforcing his concern about the deputy’s sources of funds. “There is connection with a Russian oligarch and now he receives national security reports [na Câmara]. It’s a huge problem.”

One of the declared donors to Santos’ campaign, with US$ 30,000 invested, is businessman Andrew Intrater, cousin of Russian Viktor Vekselberg, the target of US sanctions. The newspaper The Washington Post showed that the relationship between the two is old and that an Intrater firm made a contribution of US$ 625,000 in a company for which Santos worked in Florida.

Even with a history of financial difficulties and an eviction process, the deputy himself invested US$ 700,000 in his election, and there are suspicions about the origin of that money. An indictment filed with the Federal Election Committee (FEC), which monitors campaign spending, says he concealed the real donors and used funds to pay personal expenses, which is irregular.

Concerned Citizens have been lobbying lawmakers and organizing petitions against Santos. On Tuesday (17), they organized an interview with Democrat Ritchie Torres, also from New York, a vocal opponent of the son of Brazilians. “He likely violated the campaign finance law and should be investigated and held accountable,” he said.

Even Republican leaders are openly critical. In Nassau County, where Ward 03 is located, the local party chief, Joseph G. Cairo Jr., said the politician had lost the party’s trust.

Kass sees two ways to get Santos out of office: two-thirds of Congress vote to expel him or a resignation. Santos denies this possibility, which the New Yorker only thinks would happen if the mayor, Kevin McCarthy, turns against his coreligionist – which so far does not seem to be the case.

Santos did not respond to attempts to contact the Sheet. After the first reports revealed the lies, she said through a lawyer that she was the victim of persecution. Upon admitting that he had “beautified” his resume, he stated that he was not a criminal. To the Semafor portal he claimed that his recent fortune comes from intermediating financial deals for entrepreneurs.