James R. Santora is an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who owns Santora Real Estate and is a former

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 163rd district.

Early life and education

Santora was born in

Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, up from 28,043 at the 2010 census, and accounting for over a third of Upper Darby's population. G ...

and graduated from

Cardinal O'Hara High School Cardinal O'Hara High School is a coeducational Catholic high school of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school is named after John Francis O'Hara who was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1951 to 1960. It is located in Spring ...

in 1990. He received a B.S. in marketing from

Cabrini College Cabrini University is a private Roman Catholic university in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957, and was named after the first American naturalized citizen saint, Mother ...

Career

Santora worked as a real estate broker for O’Neill Properties Group for 16 years. He was elected to the

Upper Darby Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city as of 2020 with 1.6 million residents. As of the 2020 cen ...

Township council and served from 2011 to 2014. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 163rd district in 2014 and 2016, He is the owner of Santora Real Estate, LP. In the 2014 election, he defeated Vince Rongione for the seat formerly held by

Nicholas Micozzie Nicholas Anthony "Nick" Micozzie (September 7, 1930 – July 28, 2020) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 163rd district from 1979 to 2014. Early life and education T ...

. He defeated Barbarann Keffer in 2016. Santora was defeated in 2018 by Democrat

Michael Zabel Michael Zabel (born 1978) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He has represented the 163rd district since 2019. After graduating from St. Joseph's Preparatory School in 1996, Za ...

. In the 2019 election, Santora lost again, this time in a bid to become Upper Darby School Board Director. In the 2020 election, he was the chairman of an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican candidate for the 163rd district. He has returned to running his real estate business and other ventures. He is not considering running for any office at this time.

Personal life

He is married to Amy and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santora, James 1971 births 21st-century American politicians Cabrini University alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania city council members People from Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania