Santino seeks 5th term as councilman

Anthony J. Santino is seeking a fifth term as a councilman for the Town of Hempstead's fourth district, vowing to “continue to manage your tax dollars in tough times.”

Santino, a resident of East Rockaway, first took office in 1993 for his first four-year term, and was reelected in 1997 and 2001 in general elections. He also won in 2000 when the Town of Hempstead changed the at-large system to the current district system. He took 64 percent of the votes in the last election in 2005.

“It’s one thing to have a good record in good times,” Santino said. “But in tough times, you have to sharpen your pencil and buckle down to keep the budget tight to make every penny count.” He said that the current year reflects another no-tax increase, the second in the last three years. “We haven’t raised the Town portion of residents’ taxes for the last 14 out of 15 years,” he said. “I’m very proud of that record.”

In Baldwin, Santino is working to

revitalize the downtown business district through the Town of Hempstead-led urban renewal project slated for Grand Avenue and Merrick Road. And though the project hit a roadblock due to the economic recession, Santino says he and the Town Board remain committed to getting it done.

Santino said that, if reelected, he hopes to advance the revitalization of Long Beach Road, especially the area around the new Mio Posto restaurant — the old Periwinkles, which was “broken down and empty.”

Born in Corona, Queens, Santino has been an East Rockaway resident since childhood. He began his public service career at a young age, serving as an East Rockaway village trustee for eight years, beginning in 1983 at the age of 22 — two years of which he served as the village’s deputy mayor. Prior to his service as councilman, Santino was the Town's director of communications for six-and a-half years.

Santino is active member of many local community, fraternal and veteran organizations, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including being named “Man of the Year” by the Five Towns Kiwanis Club and jointly by Oceanside's Rocky Marciano Lodge of the Order Sons of Italy in America and the Trophy Lodge of B'Nai Brith. He also earned East Rockaway’s Board of Education’s 'Friends of Education” award.

“What I am most proud of is that, even with he degree that the national recession has wrecked havoc on [other] municipal budgets, the Town of Hempstead is in great financial shape. We have weathered the storm with good planning and fiscal prudency.”

The Fourth Councilmatic District of the Town of Hempstead includes Baldwin, East Rockaway, Hewlett, Island Park, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, South Hempstead, and a portion of Lynbrook.

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