To the editor:

The people who elected George Santos to Congress unknowingly elected a fictional person, someone who doesn’t actually exist.

Allowing Santos to remain employed within the government of the United States is simply unacceptable. If a person running for office can completely fabricate their life story in order to get elected, and then claim they do not have to step down when the lies are uncovered and verified, why should anyone running for office bother to tell the truth? About anything?

Aside from the oft-repeated opinions that all politicians (regardless of party affiliation) are corrupt, this goes far beyond that. As a career civil servant (retired), I had to verify my college degrees in order to be eligible to take civil service exams and for various positions of employment. I cannot imagine any reputable organization hiring someone without checking resumes and references, yet Santos didn’t work for the companies he claimed, and didn’t graduate from the colleges he claimed, among many other fabrications.

I would have been fired, if I had even managed to be hired, under similar circumstances. I hope his constituents speak out loudly and clearly to have him removed from office so they can elect a fully vetted candidate who deserves their support and can represent them without the cloud of suspicion surrounding everything he says and does. These citizens, and the rest of us, deserve better.

Susan Parker

Vermontville