Daily Point
Santos’ many terms
George Santos’ constituents are starting to get a better sense of how their new representative plans to spend his time in office. In an episode of the “Steak for Breakfast” podcast that aired last week, for example, the CD3 Republican said his goal in the next two years is to fight for a bill and appropriations to start burying electrical infrastructure.
“Our electrical grid is not buried, it’s above ground,” Santos said on the show, whose website says it “brings you all the news of the week that you may have not heard in the MSM.” Santos noted “it would take billions” to bury all of it, “but somebody has to start.”
Burying power lines has long been a hot topic on Long Island, particularly after the power outages and havoc wreaked by superstorm Sandy. Santos is correct that the job would be expensive, with estimates suggesting a cost of millions of dollars per mile.
Santos’ communications director did not respond to The Point’s request for more information about the freshman’s electrical grid ideas.
On the podcast, Santos acknowledged the difficulty of the work and suggested it would “anchor” jobs in the district, but did not detail the federal funding mechanisms he’d tap. He said he wanted to get started on the issue within the next two years. And he hinted at the type of longevity he is considering in his current role: “And if I'm given the opportunity to serve a second term, a third term, if I choose to do that, I will continue to make sure that I can put forward” the power infrastructure project.
Santos’ future on the ballot may not be fully up to him, as he is the subject of multiple law enforcement inquiries and has been essentially disowned by the Nassau County GOP. Yet he has said he is eager to remain in his current job and is staking out political territory in the meantime.
“I’m proud to say that I am amongst the top twenty most conservative members of the 118th Congress,” he said on “Steak for Breakfast,” “and I plan to hold that position because that’s what I promised I'd be and that’s who I am.”
Talking Point
Preseason opener in Nassau’s 19th
A select group of Nassau County residents is about to make its first trip to the polls since November’s Republican romp, for a special election to replace ex-GOP County Legis. Steve Rhoads, who became a state senator last month.
On Tuesday, voters in the 19th L.D. will choose between Democrat Robert Miles and Republican Michael Giangregorio, both of Merrick and both first-time candidates, to fill out the remainder of Rhoads’ term. The context of the balloting is as special as the timing: It’s for a seat in a district with a heavy Republican registration edge that isn’t likely to exist in its current form when the seat comes open again later in the year.
Under the current district map, the 19th L.D. includes parts of Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, Merrick and Freeport. But on Monday, the Republican-led county legislature is due to vote on a new map for the next 10 years effective in time for the next regular election in November. In that version, pending court challenges, the 19th L.D. would take in homes in Massapequa, North Massapequa, East Massapequa, Seaford and Merrick.
And from the proposal posted online and viewed by The Point on Friday, Giangregorio appears to live in what would soon be a GOP-dominated 12th L.D. with Miles’ home moving into a new 5th L.D. Details are tentative but the bottom line is that the two are extremely unlikely to face each other again in November.
There has been a smattering of Nassau Democrats’ complaints about their county organization’s failure to hold its own in recent local, county, state and federal elections despite registration edges in some areas. But state and Nassau Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs insists that in Tuesday’s special, “We felt it important to represent the party with a top-quality candidate.”
Jacobs told The Point that Miles has been working the district during this short time frame for the campaign and the party is supporting him with digital advertising, mailers, and texts so far. Jacobs, of course, gave the most galvanizing message of the moment for his side — that Republicans are the party that selected fabulist Rep. George Santos as a nominee.
It would mark an upset if Miles pulls it out. Tuesday also happens to be the first day on the state elections calendar for signing designating petitions for this year’s general elections. From there it’s on to the regular season and, most likely, a new playing field of possible candidates.
Pencil Point
Climate unchanged
Credit: patreon.com/jeffreykoterba/Jeff Koterba
For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons
Final Point
James still mum on Haley donor records leak
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is all in for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination but the New York State attorney general is still out to lunch on explaining how confidential donor records linked to Haley’s foundation were leaked from the AG's office.
In August, Politico published a piece about Haley’s “Stand For America,” a nonprofit which takes positions on international, national and state issues but also seems to serve as a quasi-fundraising machine for her political ambitions. The most interesting part, however, was not the donors but the fact that a progressive NYC group had given Politico the names of the nonprofit’s donors, which under state law are confidential.
Many of these folks also support other GOP presidential candidates and conservative causes. Identifying marks on the organization’s IRS tax filing with the state showed that the files containing the names came from the AG’s Charities Bureau.
In the late summer episode, Haley immediately demanded Attorney General Tish James answer how the leak happened and threatened to file a lawsuit. The Stand for America foundation did not return calls this week on whether it had actually started any litigation. The former South Carolina governor also asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate.
James spokesperson Delaney Kempner said that no lawsuit has been filed, nor has the office fielded any requests for information from the Justice Department.
In an October endorsement interview with the Newsday editorial board, James said that an internal investigation was underway about the security break, that there was no intent to harm Haley, and that confidential information from nonprofits was also exposed. In one of her rare comments on the leak, James promised to make the results of the investigation public shortly.
After Haley’s 2024 announcement last week, The Point again asked when James would disclose the result of her internal investigation. Still crickets.
