Could a residency issue upend the Sillitti-Norber Assembly race?

Daily Point

GOP challenger may not have met redistricting-year rules

Two years after fabulist George Santos won the CD3 seat, only to have questions about his residency and plenty of other issues emerge after his victory, new questions are emerging about another local candidate’s residency history.

Republican Daniel Norber, who is running for the Assembly seat in the 16th District, says he lives in Great Neck and is registered to vote in Great Neck. According to the state Constitution, to serve as an Assembly member Norber would have to have lived in Nassau County for 12 months immediately preceding Election Day — Nov. 5, 2024. That’s a rule specific to redistricting years; in other years, he’d have to have lived in the specific district for those 12 months.

Either way, Norber is now having to defend himself against charges that he doesn’t meet that qualification. An official complaint filed with the New York State Board of Elections accuses Norber of being a resident of Queens within the 12 months preceding the election. Norber’s opponent, incumbent Gina Sillitti, told The Point that she discovered the problem upon seeing a photo Norber posted to his social media of him voting in Queens last year.

According to the official complaint, filed by Kevin Clemency, Sillitti’s husband and treasurer of her campaign, New York City Board of Elections records show that Norber voted as a resident of Bayside in the Nov. 7, 2023 election.

"Because Mr. Norber was a resident of Queens twelve months preceding the election he is participating in he could not have been a resident of the 16th Assembly District or Nassau County on Nov. 5, 2023," the complaint said. "Constitutionally, he is ineligible to hold office and any votes made in his name must not be considered valid."

While Norber's social media post is dated Nov. 3, during last year’s early voting, additional posts in the days leading up to and on Election Day reflect Norber’s focus on New York City, advertising his support for City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino — a Santos backer — and then noting that residents should go to vote.nyc to check their polling sites.

While living in Bayside, Norber was a resident of CD3 — and therefore a constituent of Santos. Last year, Norber became one of about a dozen Republicans to announce plans to challenge Santos in a primary. During the summer and fall, and even into December 2023, he was listed in multiple media accounts as living in Queens. Norber ultimately withdrew his candidacy, as Santos’ expulsion from Congress led to February’s special election, in which Democrat Tom Suozzi was victorious.

According to Nassau County Board of Elections Commissioner James Scheuerman, Norber officially registered to vote in Nassau County as of Nov. 21, 2023.

There are no home ownership records for Norber, so it’s difficult to pin down when he actually moved to Great Neck, or where he lived over the last twelve months. That’s why voting and registration records are often the best determination of residency, sources told The Point.

"We’ve been through this before," Sillitti told The Point. "We just got rid of somebody who was misleading the voters, and here we are again. It goes back to just basic honesty and transparency."

Neither Norber nor Nassau Republican spokesman Mike Deery returned calls for comment.

According to Nassau Democrats' attorney Thomas Garry, officials weren’t aware of the concerns over Norber’s residency until recently and generally don’t "look at" residency or residency history during petitioning as long as the residence listed appears to meet the guidelines.

"We leave it up to the Republican Party" to vet their own candidates, Garry said.

Sillitti noted that during the last legislative session, she introduced a bill that would require candidates to swear in writing under penalty of perjury that statements regarding their educational history, military service, employment history, current residence and whether they meet residency requirements are accurate. The bill did not make it through the legislature last spring.

Garry said Norber could face removal from office should he win the race, which, sources say, is tight. That legal challenge, Garry said, would be up to the state attorney general to pursue.

"If the facts as alleged are true, he has a major problem," Garry told The Point.

But Sillitti is hoping it doesn’t come down to that.

"We’ve filed the complaint and my next step is winning the election," she said.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Electoral exercise

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Final Point

Rallying for state funding for NUMC

As discussions about the future of Nassau University Medical Center — and the possibility of the state’s installation of a temporary operator at the hospital — ratchet up, executives at the facility are ramping up their attempts to push back.

Some NUMC employees — with support from interim president and chief executive Megan Ryan — are holding a "NUMC Needs U" rally next Tuesday, Oct. 29, on the hospital’s grounds and have begun a social media campaign seeking support.

"State funding should not be tied to our CEO," one flyer posted to a new Facebook group called NUMC Needs U said in a reference to Ryan. "Imagine what can be done with $$."

In a letter to employees this week, Ryan said the hospital’s administration "fully supports this initiative" and encouraged members of the Civil Service Employees Association — the hospital’s union — to attend.

"I look forward to seeing many of you at the rally on Oct. 29 to stand together in support of NUMC and our efforts to restore state funding," Ryan wrote.

The rally and Ryan’s support of it come as state officials met with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman regarding the future of NUMC. Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle earlier this month noted that Blakeman is "in the midst of negotiations with the state concerning the financial affairs of Nassau University Medical Center."

Sources have told The Point that Gov. Kathy Hochul and her team are considering invoking a state health law that would allow her to replace Ryan and install a temporary operator, which would give the state control of NUMC’s operations. The hope, sources have said, is that the state and county could work together on such a move.

The flyer noted that the hospital has made "operational changes" and has "tripled its cash on hand and increased access to care for the community." In her letter, Ryan attached an information sheet titled "No State Takeover" and "Need State Support." Its list of accomplishments included "Current leadership cooperates with all Federal, State and County requests."

The state Department of Health, however, has previously noted that hospital officials had not complied with all of the requirements it sought in exchange for additional state funds.

On a different Facebook page for "friends" of the hospital, Ryan noted that starting Monday, Nassau Health Care Corp. would "begin covering the co-pays for all employees and their families who receive health care at NUMC, regardless of their enrolled insurance plan." The effort includes retirees as well, Ryan later confirmed.

"You care for Nassau County’s community, and we care about you and your families," Ryan’s post said.

Meanwhile, NUMC continues to add to its debt to the New York State Health Insurance Plan, or NYSHIP; the hospital is paying only $2 million of the $9 million it owes each month.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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