Nassau 'Campaign Honesty' Bill Would Make Santos-Like Lies Illegal

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — Amid revelations that Congressman-elect George Santos lie about his resume, a Nassau County lawmaker proposed outlawing such lies.

Nassau County Legislator Joshua Lafazan, a Democrat from Syosset, proposed the "Campaign Honesty" bill, which would make it a misdemeanor in the county for politicians to lie about qualifications when running for office.

"When an everyday citizen applies for a job in a company, there is a background check conducted. If they are found to have lied about something on their resume, they do not get the job," Lafazan said. "We have to take action to restore people’s trust in their elected officials, and that is why I am proposing the Campaign Honesty Bill — a first-of-its-kind piece of legislation here on Long Island to make sure that candidates do not commit voter fraud and are honest with the people they want to serve."

Lafazan's bill would make it a misdemeanor for a candidate to lie about their registered addresses, employment history, education and/or income sources. If passed, it would apply only to candidates running in Nassau County.

Those are all details that were called into question about Santos in a report in the New York Times earlier this month. Santos later admitted that he lied about his background when running for Congress against Democrat Robert Zimmerman, but said he still plans to take the seat.