Santos says he will resign if 142,000 demand it

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As more and more allegations and horror stories come out against Republican, New York Representative George Santos, the embattled conservative has doubled down and refused calls from constituents, Democrats and members of his own party to resign. While appearing on Steve Bannon’s podcast “War Room,” hosted by Florida Representative Matt Gaetz on Jan. 12, Santos said he would only step down if every single person who voted for him asked him to.

“I wish well all of their opinions, but I was elected by 142,000 people,” Santos argued, “and until those same 142,000 people tell me they don’t want me we’ll find out in two years.”

Santos subsequently claimed that he was elected by the people and for the people and continued to say that his goal is to serve the people of New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

Despite his assertions, however, almost universally residents and business owners in the district appear to be united in their condemnation of him, and demand that he step down.

Nicholas Galatro, a resident of Oyster Bay and a registered Republican, explained that although he hasn’t read too much on the Santos scandals, it was clear to him that Santos couldn’t be trusted to represent the people of his district. Galatro continued to say that although he did not vote for Santos, he would happily tell the congressman to resign if given the opportunity.

“I’m not too familiar with him, but it’s hard to trust someone who constantly twists their words and lies about something, especially concerning the general public,” Galatro said. “Many politicians at that level have lied, but it’s hard to take someone at their word when they lie as much as him.”

Numerous petitions have been started across the internet calling on Santos to resign. One of them, on change.org, already has more than 15,000 signatures attached to it.

Others are reaching out to Santos’ office directly to call on him to resign, such as Michael Amendola, who lives in Northport but owns the Village Wine Merchant in Sea Cliff. Since the news broke about Santos’ lies, Amendola has called the congressman’s district offices twice to demand the step down.

“I think Mr. Santos is a complete fraud,” Amendola said. “I personally feel that anybody who has misrepresented so many things about their past isn’t someone that you can trust and isn’t someone who has the constituents’ best interests at heart.”

Even people who voted for Santos, such as Stacie Locascio, of Glen Cove, have expressed disgust for his extensive lies and subsequent behavior and have joined the call for him to resign. Locascio also expressed optimism that 142,000 people would be willing to demand he step down.

“I think he should step aside. Resign. Go back to whatever place he came from and not run for office again,” Locascio wrote on Facebook messenger. “If we don’t get him out, it speaks to the lack of a moral compass in politics overall.”

With the recent news that Santos has been assigned to two Congressional committees — Small Business and Science, Space and Technology — it appears that until the numerous investigations into his personal and professional finances show clear examples of fraud, Santos is here to stay. However, Santos has yet to show his face in the Third Congressional District since he was elected, prompting the creation of such movements as #Where’sGeorge? by Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan.

As more and more stories continue to come out about Santos, who has gone by other names such as “Anthony Devolder” in the past, it will be harder and harder for the congressman to continue to claim that he’s here to serve his constituents. One recent story by Patch even alleged that he stole $3,000 from a disabled, homeless veteran who was trying to save his sick dog’s life, which Santos denied according to Fox News.

Additional reporting by Roksana Amid