Republican Santoro of East Lyme seeks 37th state rep seat

East Lyme — Republican Anne Santoro has announced her bid for state representative of the 37th General Assembly District, which also includes parts of Salem and Montville.

Santoro is a two-time first selectman candidate. In 2023 and 2025, she lost to current First Selectman Dan Cunningham.

She served as deputy first selectman from 2021 to 2023, and served on the Board of Finance from 2017 to 2021. Professionally, she is an attorney who has practiced municipal and business law.

The seat is currently held by state Rep. Nick Menapace, a Democrat.

In her announcement this week, Santoro said she is running to ensure the concerns of the three towns are heard in Hartford, especially concerning rising costs.

"I will bring strong leadership, thoughtful solutions and a commitment to affordability to the state capital," Santoro said.

Santoro said she wants to reverse "the continued overreach of our state government," pointing to unfunded mandates, the erosion of local planning and zoning authority and legislation looking to increase oversight of homeschooling parents.

Locally, Santoro also led the committee that distributed COVID-19 pandemic relief funding, and served as co-chairwoman of the Short-Term Rental Committee. She has worked as an attorney for the City of Milford and the Town of Greenwich.