Dante Santoni Jr. (born September 1, 1960) is former a Democratic 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 ...

, representing the 126th Legislative District from 1993 to 2010. The district is located in

Berks County Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state. The ...

, covering Alsace Township, Laureldale, Lower Alsace Township, Mount Penn, Muhlenberg Township, and

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

, and parts of Exeter Township and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Biography

Santoni was born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, to Dante and Carmella (née Cagnetti) Santoni. He graduated from Muhlenberg High School in 1978, and earned a B.S. in accounting from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

in 1982. He then worked as a field representative and loan officer with Southeast Farm Credit Service until 1983. Between 1984 and 1992, he was finance director, township secretary, and commissioner in Muhlenberg Township. Santoni was elected to the

on November 3, 1992, and was sworn into office on January 5, 1993. He has subsequently been re-elected nine times. Following the death of

state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Michael O'Pake in 2010, he briefly ran for the Democratic nomination for the 11th District but withdrew in favor of

Judy Schwank Judith Schwank (born 1951) is an American politician. A Democrat, she was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate from the 11th district in a special election on March 15, 2011, to succeed the late Michael O'Pake. The district includes the city of ...

, a former Berks County Commissioner.

References

External links

Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Dante Santoni (Democrat)
official PA House website
Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus - Dante Santoni
official Party website {{DEFAULTSORT:Santoni, Dante Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1960 births 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly