Former San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos Dead at 86

SAN LEANDRO, CA -- Former San Leandro Mayor and City Councilmember Anthony "Tony" Santos has died at the age of 86.

In a news release, city officials said that Santos died Monday. The cause of death was not released.

Santos served a total of 18 years as an elected official in San Leandro. He was first elected to the City Council in 1984, serving eight years until 1992. Santos then served again as a council member from 2000 to 2006, when he was elected as mayor.

He served as mayor through 2010, when he lost to Stephen Cassidy by a narrow margin.

City officials said that under Santos' leadership, San Leandro expanded and preserved open spaces, broke ground on the new Kaiser Permanente campus, constructed affordable housing for seniors and approved a senior community center building that now serves thousands of visitors each year.

Current San Leandro Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter directed that city flags be lowered to half-staff in Santos' honor.

"San Leandro has benefited greatly from former Mayor Santos's tireless work, which helped bring many notable developments to our community," Cutter said. "Tony was a dear friend and an example of the public servant we all aspire to be."

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of an outstanding public servant and long-time San Leandro resident," City Manager Jeff Kay said. "Tony was the mayor when I began my career in San Leandro and I admired his friendliness, positive attitude and commitment to working with our staff to best serve the community."

Santos' son, Michael Santos, serves on San Leandro's Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments.

Bay City News contributed to this report.