Council Member Santosuosso returns from maternity leave and thanks council community
Kayla Santosuosso marks her full return from maternity leave, thanking working parents and colleagues in the council for their support, praising her staff for closing over 1,000 constituent cases during her absence, and encouraging other working parents to serve.
Councilmember Santos-Uosso.
Thank you, Majority Leader.
I am officially fully back in person this week after taking maternity leave, and I put that in quotes because even an hour after I gave birth, I posted about alternate
side parking on Facebook from my recovery bed.
But as I haven't physically been on this floor for the last few months, I just wanted to use my time to express my gratitude.
Being a new first-time mom is a challenging job.
Being a new first-term council member is a challenging job.
Doing both at the same time sounded unthinkable to me last year, but it was possible and is possible through the support of so many working parents in this body who supported me and led the way before me.
And I wanted to express my appreciation for both parents and non-
parents in this body who had my back.
They say it takes a village, for me it takes a council.
I also wanted to express enormous gratitude for my incredible staff who made sure that our constituents kept being served.
Michael, Joe, Chris, Stephanie, Umber, Ben, Charlene, Natasha, and Paige.
Because of them, we closed over 1,000 constituent cases in the last few months alone.
That's SCRI applications filed, SNAP benefits secured, repairs completed, and arrears paid for residents across our district.
This is alongside the many hearings and stated I attended virtually with a baby on my shoulder, the legislation we introduced, the dozens of events we held, the budget wins we secured, and so much more.
So the next time they tell you you can't be pregnant and run for office, or you can't have a kid and serve your district, don't believe them.
Day in and day out, we represent so many working parents who juggle their careers and their families, and they know, as do we, that if you want something done, you should give it to a busy mom.
Thank you, everybody.
Thank you, Councilmember.
We're very happy to have you back.
I'll now call, and you've always been here, I know.
You've been very much here.