MEET JAMES
A FOUNDATION OF CHARACTER
Long before James Santana considered running for City Council, Montebello had already shaped the person he would become.
Raised in a hardworking family, James grew up believing that character wasn't defined by what you said—it was defined by what you did. His parents and family taught him to work hard, stay humble, show up when people need you, and leave every place a little better than you found it.
James spent most of his childhood in mid-city Montebello before his family settled in south Montebello after 2001. Today, he proudly owns a home in District 5, just a few blocks from where generations of his family have built their lives (District 4). While the city has changed over the years, Montebello has always remained the place where James chose to build his future.
SERVICE BEFORE POLITICS
James' commitment to Montebello began in the classrooms, parks, churches, and neighborhood where he grew up.
As a student in Montebello Unified, he immersed himself in student government, the school newspaper, Montebello/Commerce YMCA Youth and Government, Golden State Basketball, PAL Basketball, and volunteer work through his church. He joined the Lions Club of Montebello, helped establish their first Leos Club, and received youth leadership training through Rotary. It was during these years that James discovered something that has guided him ever since: leadership is about being someone people can depend on.
His political journey began in 2005 as a student organizer for the Measure M school bond, an experience that showed him how everyday residents could shape the future of their community. He went on to serve on his School Site Council and was recognized with a scholarship from the California Latino School Board Association.
That commitment continued through East Los Angeles College, where he served as Student Body President, and later at UCLA. Public service was never a stepping stone toward elected office. It was simply how James believed you should participate in the place you call home.
LEADING BY SHOWING UP
Whether leading large teams, building a small business, or volunteering in his hometown, James has always approached leadership the same way: listen first, earn trust, and do the work.
Over the past two decades, he has managed teams at Target and Amazon, launched
OptimysticLiving to promote leadership and wellness, and partnered with organizations including Alzheimer's Los Angeles and AT Center Los Angeles to expand opportunities for
education, creativity, and healthy living.
For fourteen years, James has also volunteered with the Human Rights Campaign, standing up for dignity, equality, and the belief that every person deserves to be treated with respect.
Closer to home, James has chaired Montebello's Parks and Recreation Commission, helped launch RunMontebelloRun and MontebelloUnited, remained active in the Lions Club of Montebello and the Montebello Sister City Association, and continued investing his time in the city that first invested in him. His leadership has never been measured by titles alone, but by a willingness to keep showing up whenever his community needed him.
CARING FOR THE PEOPLE WHO CARED FOR US
James understands the challenges that ill and aging families, caregivers, and seniors face because he has lived them. During the pandemic, he lost three grandparents, and he helped care for his mother through her illness during the final chapter of her life. She was younger than most people imagine when they picture a caregiving journey, a reminder that illness and the need for support do not always wait for old age.
Those experiences revealed both the strength of families providing care and the gaps in support that too many people navigate alone. Today, James continues that work personally as a part-time caregiver, and through his work with Alzheimer's Los Angeles.
It has strengthened his belief that every ill or aging family deserves support, every caregiver
deserves to be seen, and every senior deserves dignity, and that no one should have to face those challenges by themselves.
GIVING BACK TO MONTEBELLO
James has spent his life building relationships, solving problems, and investing in the city that has given him so much.
Running for City Council isn't the beginning of his commitment to Montebello—it's a continuation of it.
He believes Montebello can grow without losing the neighborhoods that define it. He believes seniors and working families deserve a stronger voice, small businesses deserve a City Hall that works alongside them, and young people deserve the same opportunities that helped shape his own life.
For James, leadership has never been about holding a title. It's about showing up, accepting responsibility, and leaving the community stronger than you found it. That's the standard he has tried to live by, and the one he hopes to bring to the Montebello City Council.