Enfield Candidate Profile: John Santanella, Town Council At-Large

ENFIELD, CT — Enfield's election season is heating up, and there are plenty of contested races with candidates eager to represent their town in November's municipal election. Enfield Patch asked candidates in the town council and Board of Education races to answer questions about their campaigns, and has been publishing candidate profiles each weekday as election day draws near.

Unaffiliated candidate John Santanella is running for election to the Enfield Town Council, seeking an at-large seat.

Age: 52

Family: Single

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government: No

Education: BA Political Science, MBA- Marketing and Finance

Occupation: Self Employed

Previous or current elected or appointed office: None

The single most pressing issue facing Enfield is: The economy. We need to jump start economic development in this community more than anything else. As I have said over and over again, Enfield is not friendly to business, not large business, not small business not any business. People just do not want to do business in Enfield. And everyone pays the price. My dream, would be for us to see within the next three years private development going back into Thompsonville, setting us on a course for a new Thompsonville where people can once again go to shop, socialize, and be entertained.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post: I am an Independent and because I am an Independent I am not beholden to any back room agenda, nor do I have to answer to any party leaders. I will work for no one, and answer to no one but the voters. Because of that, I am able to take on the big issues and speak my mind and say what I believe. I think this, more than anything else, is what has gotten the attention of Enfield voters this year.

List other issues that define your campaign platform: While we work on economic development, we also need to reduce spending. I have said in my campaign that I will work to eliminate wasteful spending wherever it exists in our town budget and throughout our community. This will mean either eliminating programs we cannot afford or rethinking how we have provided certain service and look for better ways to fund them.

I also believe that Enfield should have a best in class school system. Our school department needs to maintain a high level of fiscal responsibility, ensuring that we are giving our children the highest quality education, improving our facilities, and supporting our teachers.

Finally, the Town of Enfield needs to establish a best in class program to address the growing opioid epidemic facing our community. Once every three days our EMS teams are called to the scene of an overdose. Seven people have died in Enfield this year alone due to this problem. This is one place where I think we can all come together to help one another before this problem gets too big for us to handle on our own.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job: In 2011, like many people, I got laid off by Corporate America. It was in the middle of the recession and my options seemed very limited. So, I committed myself to starting my own company and working for myself. It was the scariest and most rewarding time of my life. I have continued to operate that business for now 9 years and have been tested by the struggles of being an entrepreneur. What I think this demonstrates to voters is that I have the stamina and fortitude to face adversity and persevere in the end.

The best advice ever shared with me was: Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions: I have laid out my positions on issues and what I believe I have to offer the community over the last several months. Members of the community who are interested in learning more about me and my campaign can go to www.johnsantanella.info or they can follow my Facebook page, John Santanella for Enfield, to find out everything they need to know. They can even watch a 45-minute Facebook live event where I made my case as to why I think I am qualified for this position and answered several questions from participants.