A sign from Santos

Flash Point

By George!

Godwin's Law says that online chatter moves inevitably toward discussions about Nazis, so it's no surprise that it took about a week of photos of George Santos in Washington for people to wonder whether the embattled Republican flashed a white power symbol in the House chamber. Whether it's an OK sign — or something more sinister — hand gestures like this are often being parsed for evidence of messaging, trolling, or just accidental framing. Happy Friday.

Daily Point

Santos’ treasurer

Close followers of the George Santos saga may have noticed the name Nancy Marks come up repeatedly as part of renewed scrutiny on the Republican’s campaign finance filings.

That’s because Marks, a Suffolk County GOP mainstay, is listed as the treasurer for at least seven political committees associated with Santos. Those committees have paid tens of thousands of dollars to companies associated with Marks, including Campaigns Unlimited and RIA Concepts, for work such as accounting, printing, and fundraising expenses.

It’s typical work for Marks, who has been the treasurer for dozens of political committees on the federal level, including ones for Lee Zeldin and other congressional candidates in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Campaigns Unlimited also did work for Rise NY PAC, a state outfit that employed Santos’ sister.

Marks’ work has garnered some news coverage before Santos. When Republican Tara Scully ran for District Court in Suffolk in 2015, Marks was Scully’s campaign treasurer. She hosted a meeting at her Shirley home that included the candidate and Fred Towle, a former county legislator who served time for taking bribes and for whom Marks once did work. Under discussion, according to sources who spoke to Newsday for a 2016 article, was a potential payment to Towles as well as the Suffolk Conservative Party, with a chance at the Conservative line hanging in the balance. Marks denied that there was an explicit offer.

She also served as treasurer for both Zeldin and the Conquering Cancer PAC that last cycle made a $60,829 contribution to Zeldin’s gubernatorial campaign.

Marks emailed “no comment” regarding a list of questions about her campaign work, whether she had retained a lawyer or been subpoenaed related to the Santos work, and whether there were significant issues in the Santos filings that needed to be corrected.

And Marks’ wide-ranging treasurer work for different political committees is “not uncommon,” said Myles Martin, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission.

But there are legal requirements for the role. A 2017 FEC document about those requirements notes “the treasurer remains responsible for the committee's compliance with the law.”

The Point asked Jenna Grande, press secretary for the watchdog nonprofit Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, about the consequences for a treasurer when significant noncompliance with FEC rules is proved.

Grande emailed that “it is common enough that treasurers miss questionable spending on filings. However, while mistakes may occur, the treasurer is legally obligated to catch errors in any of the reports.”

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano

Talking Point

Blakeman has his head in the Sands

Many of the nearly 1,200 guests at the Long Island Association’s annual State of the Region breakfast Friday had already left, were chit-chatting with one another, or were no longer paying attention when Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman appeared on the screens around the Crest Hollow Country Club ballroom toward the end of the program.

They missed what could have been the biggest message of the day: Something new is brewing at the Nassau Hub.

“We are now at the point where hopefully in the next couple of weeks, that we’ll have a plan that we can introduce that’s exciting, that will generate revenue for the county, that will be truly the economic cornerstone of our economic development in Nassau County,” Blakeman said of the Hub.

Wait. What? A Hub plan in a matter of weeks? What exactly was Blakeman talking about?

A careful observer Friday would have one clue. In an enormous ballroom with dozens of tables, the prime real estate — the table in front of the dais — was occupied by one of the LIA’s newest sponsors: Las Vegas Sands, whose executives have been spending a lot of time on the Island lately.

Yes, Blakeman was referring to a proposal for a casino at the Hub.

Blakeman’s video remark came after a morning of speeches by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, who both talked of infrastructure, economic development, the environment, and more. Blakeman had been at the breakfast before its official start, but had to leave before the program due to a family medical issue. Hence the video message.

And Blakeman’s comment about the Hub came just days after the state issued its Request for Applications for downstate casino licenses. The state is planning to award three downstate licenses, but observers think two likely will go to the established racinos at Aqueduct and Yonkers. That leaves one up for grabs in a highly competitive process that requires any casino operator to meet a host of requirements by the state, including zoning approvals and a go-ahead from local community representatives.

Blakeman said in an interview that he’s not committing to supporting a casino at the Hub — yet. But he’s definitely paying attention.

“It’s very clear now that there is a casino developer that’s interested in the Hub,” Blakeman told The Point later Friday. “I told them that it would be malpractice on my part if I didn’t listen to their proposal.”

Blakeman provided three criteria that the Sands — or any other casino company — would have to meet. A proposal would have to feature a high-end resort that’s “architecturally pleasing” and includes a 4- or 5-star hotel and an entertainment complex, in addition to the casino itself, would have to generate significant revenue for the county, and would require community support.

“If those three criteria were met, then it could be something I would support,” Blakeman said.

Certainly two of the three — the design of the resort and the money — seem fairly straightforward. The third — the need for community support — may end up being the biggest challenge for any casino operator, including the Sands.

Blakeman isn’t ruling out other options for the Hub.

“There are other entities out there that have made some interesting and exciting proposals for the Hub,” Blakeman said. “It’s not one or nothing. I’m working on parallel tracks.”

Blakeman, however, noted that the Sands is the “new entity that’s involved.”

“They should be taken seriously,” he said.

Clearly, the LIA — and Blakeman — already are taking them seriously.

And perhaps we’ll learn more about the Hub, the Sands, and what lies ahead for both — in “a couple of weeks.”

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point

Remembering the riot

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons

Final Point

Records for women in Congress

Whenever House Republicans finally swear in new members, a few deep-cut but intriguing records will be set regarding women in Washington.

There will be 124 women in the House, one above the previous high, according to a tally by the Center for American Women and Politics. But that number was dampened by the highest count of incumbent House women departures ever: 21 of them, according to CAWP, which is part of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

And the numbers show some of the pathways women are now taking to national office. Of the 22 new women who will be sworn in, 14 served in state legislatures. Seven of them first came to state legislative office in the aftermath of the 2016 election.

Over in the Senate, here’s a similar fun fact stat: Kyrsten Sinema is the first woman to serve as an independent.

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano