Is City Hall insider Henry Santana campaigning based on identity politics or based on policy?
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Many on the progressive left are viewing the withdrawal of Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty from the city’s upcoming election as a welcomed relief. With Flaherty out, the field is narrowed down to 8 candidates each vying for 1 of 4 at-large seats on the Council.
For those on the progressive left, their preferred candidate is none other than Mayor Wu appointee and current City Hall insider Henry Santana. Though born in the Dominican Republic, Santana has lived in Boston since childhood and is well-connected to the Wu administration.
Currently, Santana serves as the head of Wu’s recently created “Office of Civic Organizing (OCO).”
The purpose of OCO, per the City of Boston website, is to “foster collaborative partnerships and programs that encourage Boston residents to participate in proactive community engagement, awareness, and service in Boston’s neighborhoods.”
For Wu, no one was better poised to “mobilize residents to get involved and shape how we support our communities than Santana.”
According to the Mayor, she “know[s] Henry Santana will use his passion for Boston and building community to grow activism across our neighborhoods.”
Prior to becoming the head of OCO, Santana worked on the campaign staff of former District 8 Councilor and now head of the Boston Housing Authority Priscilla “Kenzie” Bok.
His sister, Keisha Santana, also works for Mayor Wu as her “Roxbury Liason” in the Department of Neighborhood Services.
While politically connected, many other local politicians and organizations seem to share Wu’s sentiments pertaining to Santana. A host of well-recognized political figures and interest groups have already offered their endorsements, with more expected to follow in the coming weeks.
With this growing list of endorsements and direct connection with the Mayor of Boston, it seems that Santana would truly have a lengthy record of civic engagement. However, documents obtained by BAN indicate that this may not be the case.
For starters, 27-year-old Santana has never voted despite his nearly decade-long eligibility. Even during the previous election when voting requirements were eased and mail-in-voting was encouraged, Santana chose not to participate in the democratic process.
More curious is the fact that Santana did not even register to vote until March 9, 2023 – less than a month before he announced his at-Large candidacy.
Despite the apparent shortcomings in Santana’s non-existent voting record, we at BAN considered that these endorsements of the at-large candidate may have stemmed from the policies upon which he bases his campaign.
As of the writing of this article, Santana lists four main areas of policy upon which he builds his political platform:
1. Housing Platform
2. Public Safety Platform
3. Environmental Justice Platform
4. Civic Engagement Platform
Ultimately, there are very few substantive policy approaches listed in Santana’s own statements regarding these four positions, and they appear to primarily reinforce his candidacy based on his identity as a black immigrant living in Boston.
It is the conclusion of BAN, that simply reinforcing the same rhetoric that Boston residents have become accustomed to hearing from their elected officials falls short of building a “grassroots” campaign movement that is predicated upon sound policy.
To elaborate, the typical tropes of “increasing funding,” “adding protections,” calling for “more community policing,” or “prioritizing the environment” aren’t a legislative agenda but a list of buzzwords that have become a prerequisite to existing in the Boston political scene.
Most ironic, however, is the pillar of “Civic Engagement” that appears central to Santana’s campaign. Despite never participating “in our democracy fully” himself, Santana claims to “know how challenging it can be to navigate the complexities of our civic institutions.”
Yet despite having never voted and not producing a clearly defined legislative agenda in his bid for Councilor-at-Large, Santana has retained not just endorsements but over $13,000 “cash on hand” from campaign contributions as well. It is important to note that nearly $3,000 of these contributions came from the Bok Family alone.
To date, Santana has officially filed three campaign disclosures with the OCPF, which you can view by clicking the following links:
Given this information, BAN formally submits the following questions to at-Large Candidate Henry Santana for response:
Why have you never voted in any elections?
Why did you only just register to vote a month before declaring your candidacy?
How do you rectify your own lack of participation in the democratic process with your public requests for constituents to vote for you?
Since you only just registered to vote, does this mean that you failed to comply with federal law by registering with the Selective Service on time?
If elected, what specific legislative ordinances do you plan to propose before the City Council? What are the actual details of your four campaign pillars?
What made you focus on these four campaign pillars as opposed to other issues/concerns constituents have regarding the City of Boston? Was there something specific about these four that stood out to you?
BAN will publish an update to this article when/if we receive a response from Candidate Henry Santana. To help aid in this process of providing the residents of Boston with the accountability and transparency they deserve, feel free to reach out to Henry Santana by emailing henry@henrysantana.com.
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