Jorge Santini Padilla (born March 11, 1960) is a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who previously served as the mayor of San Juan.

State Service

In 1975, Santini became a member of the United States Marines Air Cadets Corps. At present, he is Lieutenant Colonel in the Puerto Rico State Guard, assigned to the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called ju ...

. On September 18, 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Mayor Santini to serve on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. As a member of the State Guard, Santini has never served in the military.

Professional career

In 1982 he obtained his bachelor's degree with honors from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5, ...

, Río Piedras campus. In 1988 he was accepted as a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association,

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, and

Federal Bar Association The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, The Association prints ''The Federa ...

. He also presided the Attorney Association of the Faculty of Law at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law. Santini became a partner at the law firm of Miranda Cárdenas & Córdova where he specialized in medical malpractice suits. He began his public service in 1993, during Pedro Rossello's gubernatorial term, Santini was appointed as his aide in the areas of Health, Social Welfare, and Hiring, as well as serving as the Governor's Legal Aide. In 2007, he participated in the Summit of the Latin American Council in Honor of educational excellence. There the prize for educational excellence, a master's degree in educational management in Latin America and an honorary doctorate was awarded for commitment to education given by 16 universities, all in recognition of his work establishing the first municipal school system of Puerto Rico.

Political career

Senator: 1997–2001

In 1996, Santini decided to start a political career under the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was elected to the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control ...

at the

1996 general elections File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

representing the District of San Juan. During that term, he served as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Mayor of San Juan

Santini entered the race for

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

in 1999 and challenged Senate President Charlie Rodriguez in a PNP primary. Rodríguez had been the choice of the party leadership, but Santini prevailed in the primary. He went on to defeat Popular Democratic Party candidate Eduardo Bhatia in the 2000 elections and sought reelection in 2004 defeating Bhatia for a second time. In his 6th year as Mayor of San Juan, Santini began inaugurating major projects such as the San Juan Natatorium in 2006, the San Juan Golf Academy in 2007, a sports-oriented magnet school and a bilingual municipal magnet school, and San Juan's Ronald Reagan Autism-Specialized Day Care Center. In 2007, Santini was elected for a third term as Mayor of San Juan but was defeated in the 2012 San Juan mayoral election and left office on January 14, 2013. During his third term the municipality imposed a secret tax on properties in the city. Investigations into the scheme revealed that $1.3 million in revenue went missing. The municipal debt at the end of Santini's tenure had reached $18 million.

Senate of Puerto Rico

In 2017 Santini created Soto and Santini LLC a advisory group providing professional services for the

and various government agencies. In 2020 the office of ethics sued Santini for income he earned working for the Senate and the National Guard simultaneously.

Personal life

Santini married Irma Garriga on August 23, 1986. They have three children together: Odette (b. 1987), Jorge Andrés (b. 1996), and Amanda (b. 2003).

References

External links

Boletín Informativo con Biografía
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santini, Jorge 1960 births Mayors of San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Living people New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians University of Puerto Rico alumni