“Anthony D’Esposito proves every day that he’s out of step with New York’s Fourth Congressional District. D’Esposito has failed to align with Long Islanders’ needs, instead pushing an extreme agenda to restrict reproductive freedom, play politics with the border, and enable corruption in Washington. As a litigator and former Hempstead Town Supervisor, Laura Gillen has tackled corruption head-on and built a strong record of fighting to deliver for Nassau County families, which is exactly why she’ll flip this critical seat from red to blue,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Ellie Dougherty, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 25, 2024 Subject: The Case Against Anthony D’Esposito
Despite consistently being ranked as one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country, Anthony D’Esposito has repeatedly caved to the most extreme factions of his party. During his brief time in Congress, D’Esposito has actively pushed a far-right agenda to restrict women’s reproductive rights, play politics with the border, and enable corruption while praising extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene – all but guaranteeing his pink slip in the Democratic-leaning Fourth Congressional District.
But Anthony D’Esposito’s self-serving record extends beyond his time in Washington. As Hempstead Town Councilman, D’Esposito accrued a shameful record of abusing taxpayer dollars and only looking out for himself.
Laura Gillen, on the other hand, has a proven record of delivering meaningful results for Nassau County families and is building a strong campaign to defeat D’Esposito, including outraising him by a ratio of two-to-one in the first fundraising quarter of 2024.
Laura’s strong ties to and record of delivering for the district further speak to her strength as a candidate. Laura is a native Long Islander who grew up in Baldwin. Her drive for serving her community started long before she ran for office – growing up, she volunteered at South Nassau Communities Hospital and Camp Anchor, a camp serving special needs children and adults. After graduating from college, Laura returned to New York and began volunteering to assist people living with HIV/AIDS during the height of the AIDS epidemic. This work eventually led her to Kolkata, where she worked for St. Mother Teresa in her home for the dying.
In 2017, Laura became the first Democrat in 112 years to be elected Hempstead Town Supervisors – a testament to her reputation of working with anyone to get things done. As Supervisor, Laura managed a budget of nearly $500 million, took aim at waste and corruption, and made the Town government more accessible, transparent and accountable to taxpayers.
Laura’s strong record of delivering for her community stands in stark contrast to D’Esposito’s self-serving, MAGA Republican agenda. The choice between results-oriented Laura Gillen and MAGA lackey Anthony D’Esposito for Nassau County voters couldn’t be more clear.
PUSHING AN ANTI-CHOICE AGENDA THAT’S OUT OF STEP WITH THE DISTRICT
From the get-go, Anthony D’Esposito has pushed a dangerous record of restricting women’s reproductive freedom in Congress – making it abundantly clear that he wants politicians to decide if and how Nassau County women should make decisions about their reproductive health care.
But even before he set foot in Washington, D’Esposito proved that he couldn’t be trusted when it came to protecting women’s reproductive freedom. Immediately following the disastrous overturning of Roe v. Wade, he publicly announced he supported the Court’s decision. A couple months later on the campaign trail, D’Esposito backed a national abortion ban – then tried to reverse his position just moments later.
D’Esposito has continued to double down on anti-choice extremism by voting for draconian anti-abortion legislation in Congress. As one of his first votes in Congress, he voted for a bill to establish new criminal penalties for doctors – even including jail time. He also voted for an extreme amendment to the defense bill, which would restrict reproductive health care nationally for service members and their families.
Lastly, he’s repeatedly sided with the most extreme members of his party on Republicans’ path to their ultimate goal: banning abortion nationwide. For instance, just days after the Alabama Supreme Court decision that paved the way for banning IVF, D’Esposito endorsed Donald Trump – who is no longer keeping his desire for a national abortion ban private and brags about overturning Roe v. Wade. And of course, D’Esposito voted for Speaker Mike Johnson who co-sponsors a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or to save a woman’s life that would also prohibit IVF treatment and common forms of birth control.
Meanwhile, Laura Gillen is committed to codifying Roe v. Wade into law in Congress. Laura will always protect reproductive freedom because as a woman and mother of daughters, making sure women own their decisions about their bodies and futures is personal to her.
PLAYS POLITICS WITH THE BORDER AND PUBLIC SAFETY
Nassau County voters want swift action on addressing our immigration system’s shortcomings – yet Anthony D’Esposito is all talk and no action when it comes to securing the border.
In fact, when given the best opportunity in decades to make progress on the issue, D’Esposito’s performative politics led him to reject a bipartisan border security deal negotiated in the Senate and backed by the Border Patrol Union after Donald Trump urged House Republicans to kill the bill – a cynical political move in an election year.
Refusing to engage in any real attempt to move border solutions forward isn’t the only way Anthony D’Esposito has exhibited a pattern of caving to extreme partisanship on the border. At the New York GOP’s state party annual gala, D’Esposito had the audacity to praise Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is solely responsible for sending nearly 40,000 migrants to New York in an attempt to score cheap political points. D’Esposito also voted for a bill that would have cut thousands of federal law enforcement positions and hundreds of state and local public safety officers.
In contrast, Laura Gillen has been a leading voice on key issues like immigration reform from the onset of her campaign. Laura’s approach for how she’ll secure the border in Congress is clear: she’ll work with both parties to achieve comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform and enhance border security measures to keep Nassau County families safe.
ENABLES CORRUPTION IN NASSAU COUNTY AND WASHINGTON
Long Islanders are fed up with scandal-ridden politicians representing them, which spells trouble for Anthony D’Esposito and his rampant record of corruption during his time in the NYPD, on the Hempstead Town Council, and now, in the halls of Congress.
Considering Anthony D’Esposito’s past, it’s no surprise he’s continued to enable corruption as a congressman, especially when it comes to his role in repeatedly protecting federally-indicted serial liar George Santos, whose shadow “looms” over D’Esposito himself.
Turns out, D’Esposito was ensnared in the controversy surrounding George Santos’ shady financial schemes – he uses Santos’ accountant Thomas Datwyler, who allegedly tried to cover up his role handling the disgraced former congressman’s finances, as his own campaign treasurer. Even after being exposed, D’Esposito doubled down on his sketchiness by refusing to answer questions about his connection to Datwyler.
The opposite is true for Laura Gillen. As Hempstead Town Supervisor, Laura took on decades of mismanagement, nepotism, and corruption that D’Esposito and the Nassau County Republican machine engaged in while in local government. Laura pushed to stop raises for political appointees, end corrupt contracts, and save taxpayers over $14 million dollars. She’ll continue to fight corruption and for Nassau County families’ interests in Congress.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Newsday: Trump gives the nod to CD4’s D’Esposito [Newsday, 05/28/24]
The Island 360: Merrick resident alleges D’Esposito subsidized $20,000 for campaign committee [The Island 360, 05/25/24]
Politico: New York House GOP sees fundraising void without McCarthy cash [Politico, 11/20/23]
Politico: Santos’ shadow looms over fellow freshmen [Politico, 11/01/23]
“Remember the accountant who said Santos wrongly listed him as treasurer back in January? … And the lawyer for campaign treasurer Thomas Datwyler just rescinded his January statements that claimed Datwyler had been played by Santos, the Daily Beast reported, saying that actually, it looks like Datwyler had played the Federal Election Commission. And the public.
“Datwyler isn’t some fringe character desperate for a paycheck.
“He’s also the campaign treasurer for Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota, two Long Island Republican first-year members who’ve been eager to distance themselves from Santos.”
NY1: First on NY1: Laura Gillen added to DCCC’s ‘Red to Blue’ program [NY1, 03/28/24]
PATH TO VICTORY
New York’s Fourth Congressional District is a diverse, highly educated district that has a strong Democratic base – with President Biden winning by 14.6 points in the major-party vote in 2020. The district is consistentlyranked one of the top five most competitive House seats in the country. Both Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rate the race a “toss-up.”
Additionally, after Democrats won the most competitive special election of the 2024 cycle on Long Island by an eight point margin – where D’Esposito’s role as a top surrogate for the Republican candidate fell embarrassingly flat – Gillen is well-positioned to flip this critical seat from red to blue.
Anthony D’Esposito’s increasing vulnerability has been significantly aided by his extreme voting record to restrict abortion, play politics with the border, cut law enforcement funding, and enable corruption. In a district that clearly favors Democrats, Laura Gillen is building a formidable campaign – including raising more than double what D’Esposito raised in the first fundraising quarter of 2024 – and has high name ID through her time serving on the Hempstead Town Council and as the Democratic congressional candidate in the 2022 general election. She is well on her way to finishing the job she started and bringing steady and strong leadership to Nassau County once again.
