Petition Circulating Demanding Lee Zeldin's Resignation

LONG ISLAND, NY — A petition is circulating demanding that Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY, 1) resign after a mob of angry rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.

Jay S. Jacobs, chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, said he called on Zeldin, as well as Republican congressional representatives Chris Jacobs, Nicole Malliotakis, and Elise Stefanik to resign "for their complicity in Wednesday’s deadly insurrection on the U.S. Capitol."

Zeldin and the others, he said, "have not only violated their oath of office, they have disgraced the districts and state that they represent."

The four, he said have spent months "delegitimizing our electoral process, thereby undermining our faith in our democratic institutions. On Wednesday, we saw the grave consequences of supporting such divisive and false claims."

They do not deserve to hold office or represent New York, Jacobs said. "After supporting these lies against our democracy by a narcissistic authoritarian in the White House, who wanted to cling to power, they must resign." He asked those who agreed to sign the petition.

Zeldin returned a request for comment Saturday: "Anyone who wants to call on a congressional Republican to resign for supporting an objection on January 6 needs to put up their past statements calling for the resignation of every congressional Democrat who objected in the past, which has now happened at the same date and place as part of the same constitutional process every single time a Republican presidential candidate has won over the past generation. If those public calls for resignations don’t exist, the call for the congressional Republican to resign now is clearly coming from just another political hack."

Gordon Herr, chairman of the Southampton Town Democratic Committee, said both town and county Dems supported and endorsed the petition for Zeldin's resignation.

Peter McGreevy, Southold Town Republican Party Committee chair, spoke out: "We just had a petition where the Democrats tried to remove Lee Zeldin, two months ago. It was called election day, and Lee won. The U.S. Constitution simply does not provide for the recall of a congressman by the electorate, so if the Democrats want to be serious they will have to wait 22 more months, not circulate internet petitions," he said.

On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke out on Wednesday's "explosion of hate" and called for President Donald Trump to resign or be impeached. He called on every New York elected official to demand that resignation.

"The question is simple: Were you with the mob? Or are you with the American people? If you're a New York federal representative, are you with the mob, or are you with New Yorkers?" Cuomo said.

One day after he voted to object to the certification of the Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, Zeldin called for "a peaceful transition of power."

Zeldin said the certification of Electoral College results means that on Jan. 20, Biden will be sworn in as president and Kamala Harris, as vice-president — and he said it was time for the nation to come together.

Zeldin discussed Wednesday's attack on the Capital where he said he witnessed, from inside the House chamber, "the best of America clash with some of the worst of it in a moment of my life I will never forget."

A total of 121 Republican members of the House voted to object to Arizona's election votes securing Biden's victory. Some Republicans who planned to object reversed course after rioters stormed the Capitol, but Zeldin, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, maintained his stance.

"Rogue election officials, secretaries of state, and courts circumvented state election laws," he said on the House floor. "They made massive changes to how their state's election would be run. These acts, among other issues, were unlawful and unconstitutional."

He then called out Democrats. "Democrats have objected every time a Republican presidential candidate has won an election over the past generation," he said.

Zeldin's stance sparked outrage among some of his constituents.

"Any elected official that continues down this line of lies and misinformation doesn't deserve to serve the good people of the United States of America," said Jim Shaw of Greenport.

Perry Gershon, a Democrat who lost a primary bid to challenge Zeldin, wrote in a Facebook post:

"Yesterday's events in DC left a permanent scar on our great nation ... But for those of us in NY CD-1, it's that much worse to know that our own representative Lee Zeldin was on the side against democracy. His desire to curry favor with Trump and his constant efforts putting ambition over country should not go unnoticed."

Kathryn Casey Quigley, chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee, said, of Zeldin: "You are not defending the republic, you are feeding the destruction of our democracy." Republicans, she said, "must reject the lies and untruths vocally and forcefully, and if they can't they should resign."