Drew Announces Appointments

From Mayor-Elect Dan Drew

Mayor-Elect Daniel Drew announces the appointments of Deputy Mayor, Administrative Aide (Chief of Staff), and Corporation Counsel

Mayor-Elect Daniel Drew has announced his three initial appointments pursuant to the Middletown Charter. Drew has named Councilman Robert Santangelo as Deputy Mayor; Joseph Samolis as Administrative Aide (Chief of Staff), and Attorney Daniel B. Ryan as Corporation Counsel.

Deputy Mayor Bob Santangelo was elected to the Middletown Common Council in 1993. Bob currently serves on the Economic Development Committee, as chairman of the Public Safety Committee, as chairman of the Contract Compliance Committee, the Harbor Improvement Commission, and the Middletown Commission on the Arts.

He served as Council Majority Leader for two terms. He has served on the Economic Development Commission since 1993. He has served on the Public Safety Commission since 1994. He has also served on the Health Committee, Ordinance Study Committee, the Youth Services Advisory Board, the Water Pollution Control Authority, the Re-Development Agency, Senior Affairs Commission, the Commission on the Arts, the Public Safety Telecommunications Committee, the Personnel Review Committee, the Parking Study Committee, the Water Department Building Committee, and Dispatch Center Building Committee. He is a member of the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Action Council’s Board of Directors, the Middlesex County Cooperative Extension, and the Haddam/University of Connecticut Department of Agriculture Advisory Board.

Bob is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He graduated from Middletown High School in 1964. He earned BA and MS degrees from the University of Maryland and Southern Connecticut State University in 1972 and 1976, respectively. He served as an emergency driving instructor for the Connecticut Police Academy at SCSU, was the first state coordinator of motorcycle safety, and is a former public high school teacher. Bob has been a substance abuse counselor since 1985. He currently works at Connecticut Valley Hospital as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. He is a lifelong member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the Middletown Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans and the American Legion. Bob lives in Middletown with his wife, Lisa.



Administrative Aide Joe Samolis is employed at the State Historic Preservation Office, a division of the Department of Economic and Community Development. He works as a museum employee assisting the Museum director in administering and managing the agency’s four state-run museums. He also assists environmental review staff with governmental compliance of environmental and historic preservation policy. In addition, Joe is an Aquatics Consultant for the Middletown Parks and Recreation Department, where he helps develop policy and train seasonal staff in proper safety procedures. Previously, Joe was the head coach for the city’s rowing program, as well as an assistant coach for the Middletown High School rowing team.

Joe is a 1999 graduate of Middletown High School. He is an Honors graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a BA in Anthropology and Archaeology.  Joe earned his Masters degree from the University of South Carolina in Anthropology and Archaeology, as well as a certificate in Museum Management. Joe lives in Middletown with his wife, Kate, and their daughter Isabella.



Corporation Counsel Daniel B. Ryan has practiced law in Middletown for 40 years at the law firm of Ryan and Ryan. He is a trained mediator and is admitted to practice in all Connecticut and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.  He is also an active member and former president of the Middlesex County Bar Association, the Hartford County Bar Association, the Connecticut Bar Association and the American Bar Association, as well as a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and the Connecticut Council for Divorce Mediation and Collaborative Practice.

Dan previously served as Middletown Corporation Counsel for 10 years under mayors Maria Holzberg and Domenique Thornton. Dan also served as Town Attorney for the towns of East Hampton and East Haddam. He was an Adjunct Professor of Business Law at Middlesex Community College for 25 years and served now or formerly on the Boards of Directors of The Rockfall Foundation, University Club of Wesleyan (serving as president) Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, Middlesex United Way, and was a former member of the Independent Day School Board of Trustees.  He is a member of the Middletown Garden Club.

Dan served as a U.S. Navy officer, including assignments as Legal Officer aboard an aircraft carrier, Admiral’s Aide at the Pentagon and as a White House Aide, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He graduated from the U.S. School of Naval Justice in Newport and also attended The Naval War College in Newport.

Dan has served his church as General Chairman of the Annual Bishop’s Appeal for the Diocese of Norwich. He was knighted by Pope John Paul II in 1989 as a Knight of St. Gregory.

Dan is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School. He received a BA from Holy Cross College and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Dan lives in Middletown with his wife, Attorney Helen F. Ryan (who is employed with the Connecticut Judicial Department). They have three adult children, Meghan, Maeve and Daniel Brophy Ryan, Jr.