Santoro was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as Liberal member for Merthyr in Brisbane from 13 May 1989 until 19 September 1992. He was then elected as member for Clayfield from 19 September 1992 until he was defeated on 17 February 2001 by Liddy Clark. From 26 February 1996 to 26 June 1998, he was the State Minister for Training and Industrial Relations.
