Hector Santiago

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Hector Santiago

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 2, 2021

Personal

Birthplace

Detroit, Mich.

Religion

Protestant

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Hector Santiago ran for election to the Detroit City Council to represent District 6 in Michigan. He lost in the general election on November 2, 2021.

Santiago completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Hector Santiago was born in Detroit, Michigan.

Elections

2021

See also: City elections in Detroit, Michigan (2021)

General election

General election for Detroit City Council District 6

Gabriela Santiago-Romero defeated Hector Santiago in the general election for Detroit City Council District 6 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gabriela Santiago-Romero (Nonpartisan)	73.9	5,922
		Hector Santiago (Nonpartisan)	25.3	2,028
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	62

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,012
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Hector Santiago and Gabriela Santiago-Romero advanced from the primary for Detroit City Council District 6.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Sanchez (Nonpartisan)
• Myamika Jordan (Nonpartisan)

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Hector Santiago completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Santiago's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Growing up in Southwest Detroit, I learned the value of faith, community, treating others with respect, and hard work as the oldest of four kids. A graduate of Western High School, I excelled in the classroom and on the baseball field and was the first in my family to attend college. I am currently helping care for my father on dialysis, an experience that has given me a firsthand understanding of the importance of healthcare access. Following a nonviolent offense charge, I qualified for the city’s Project Clean Slate program and successfully obtained expungement, giving me the opportunity of a second chance and inspired me to pursue public service. For nearly a decade, I've led a workforce development program dedicated to improving residents’ quality of life, job training, and expanding youth education opportunities for Detroiters. My direct work with returning citizens has helped hundreds of people overcome barriers to employment and get a second chance when most had counted them out of society. In my spare time, I coach youth baseball, mentor in conflict resolution, and teach Sunday school. For me, the challenges facing Southwest aren’t just rhetorical — they are deeply personal. I am running for Detroit City Council to bring people together and get results for the community I am proud to call home. My fresh perspective, lived experience, and commitment to economic and social justice ensure I will be a strong voice for the people.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Public Safety
• Justice Reform
• Workforce Development

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

If I have the honor to serve, I will always put the people first. That starts with building sustainable, equitable economic opportunity that fosters entrepreneurship, supports small businesses, invests in local infrastructure, and promotes workforce training and development for all residents, regardless of background or zip code.

Neighborhood safety is also a top concern because every resident, regardless of political ideology, age, or background, wants their kids to be able to play safely outside. I will center neighborhood safety as a main priority by continuing to build trust through the recruitment of public safety officers from within our communities, reducing emergency response times, and enhancing resources through community policing and partnerships with District 6 Neighborhood Police Officers to keep all residents safe.

As someone with firsthand experience navigating the justice system, I know the importance of reforms and will invest in recidivism programs as well as advocate for equal opportunity in employment, housing, and other areas for returning citizens eager for a second chance after serving their time.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

For too long, our communities have been left behind, voices left unheard, and opportunities left unpursued. I have spent nearly a decade fighting to improve Detroiters' livelihoods through workforce development. My work with returning citizens has helped hundreds overcome barriers to employment and get a second chance when most had counted them out of society.

Some of you may know that following a nonviolent offense charge, I qualified for the city’s Project Clean Slate program and successfully obtained expungement. The City of Detroit gave me a second chance. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to attend the bill signing of the state’s Clean Slate Criminal Justice Reform package with the Governor and the Mayor, an experience that inspired me to pursue public service. I have seen firsthand the positive impact good government can have on people’s lives and, sadly, the hurt in our neighborhoods when “leaders” lack courage to stand up for what’s right.

We’ve been gutted by the pandemic and face wide-ranging challenges as we look ahead. But for me, these challenges aren’t just rhetorical — they’re deeply personal. I grew up here, proudly graduated from Western HS, coach baseball here, am raising my kids here, and my parents live here. And now, I want to do all I can to help the city that has never turned its back on me.

I’m running for Detroit City Council to lift the voices of everyone in our vibrant community. Our residents deserve economic opportunity and good-paying jobs, a fair justice system, safe neighborhoods and parks, and investment that positions our community as a model for how to do workforce development in the city.

The Detroit City Council holds so much influence over everyday life for Detroiters, I am trying to get into government to make peoples lives easier and get back to the basics.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have lived in District 6 my entire life. I know what poverty is, I know what it is like to have $10 in my pocket -- five for a loaf of bread and cheese, and five for gas. I have built this campaign on second chances and always being a voice for the underdog, a story I know all too well.

Like you, I am human and not perfect. A number of years ago, I got a nonviolent offense charge, which was a the turning point in my life. I joined a local workforce development program as a member of the cohort, and 10 years later I have the pleasure of running that same program. Teaching participants now and connecting them with opportunities when most have c is an incredible way to use my story as an example. I went through Project Clean Slate and got an expungement and a second chance. I proudly stood with the Governor, LG, and Mayor at a bill signing to expand expungements for thousands across the state. That experience is what opened my eyes to the powerful impact good government can have. Today I am running for Detroit City Council to fight with everything I’ve got to give back to the city that has never turned its back on me.

Although I have not run for office before, I have always given back to my home, my community, even if I didn’t know what that service was called. As a pastor’s son, my parents always taught me to give, even if we didn’t have much. I have coached baseball for as long as I can remember, and we always made it to the championship, and now I am trying to win the championship on November 2nd. I teach Sunday school and have consistently shown up for my neighbors when they call on me and even when they don’t.

For too long our communities have been discounted, disregarded and disenfranchised. I want to be a voice for all of our communities, not just the well-off or well-connected.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2021 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Detroit City Council District 6

Website

Facebook