Left Hand Laurel Tony Santelli

For his enduring leadership and volunteerism for the Niwot community and advocacy for Niwot's businesses, Tony Santelli is the Left Hand Valley Courier's April Left Hand Laurel.

As a former co-owner of the Niwot Tavern, a past president of the Niwot Business Association (NBA), and a current member of the community's minimum wage task force as well as the Niwot Future League (NFL), Santelli's leadership and dynamism is apparent when he discusses his love for the Niwot community.

Niwot is the community Santelli and his wife remained in after Santelli's long illustrious career with IBM, which included living in Paris and London as well as serving as the site manager for the Boulder facility on Highway 119.

After taking stock of his life abroad and his humble beginnings as a second generation Italian/Sicilian growing up in the Bronx borough of New York City, Santelli said despite being able to live anywhere in the world, the thing he loves most about Niwot and what brings tears to his eyes, is his Niwot family.

A Niwot family, he said, includes his favorite "Niwotians," his "compatriots," and those that he has "been in the foxhole with," especially when it comes to battling constraints by county government and solving challenges for the entry of new community businesses.

When reflecting on what his Niwot family may not know about him, Santelli said, "I don't think they know how, maybe they do, but I really never said how connected I am to this place."

And as further appreciation for his community, Santelli says when he visits other places, "I don't want to be away from Niwot that long."

One of Santelli's favorite Niwotians is fellow community leader Anne Postle. According to Postle, Santelli is one of those people who will never stop giving back to Niwot.

"From the NBA, the LID (Niwot Local Improvement District), the Niwot Future League, and countless special projects, to investing time and mentoring many of Niwot's current and future leaders, to leading the charge for Niwot to be a micro-wedding destination, and now stepping up to fight for fairness in the application of the minimum wage in Boulder County, Tony is always working to make Niwot a better place," wrote Postle in an email.

When asked what inspires his community contributions, Santelli said, "Well, I've been very fortunate. I've come from nowhere to being somewhere. And I feel an obligation. It's a need to share what I have, at no cost."

As a community protector, a current focus for Santelli is advocating against Boulder County's new minimum wage ordinance for the unincorporated portions of the county, which includes Niwot.

While not against fair wages, Santelli argues that forcing Niwot, a small and fragile community, to implement a significantly higher minimum wage than surrounding larger communities is unfair. Santelli said he thinks Niwot's minimum wage should match the lowest of what other communities in the county are required to pay.

Santelli also said he thinks the new ordinance will be difficult to reverse for employees who receive a higher wage after some time, especially if Niwot reaches a $25.00 hourly minimum wage by 2030 as prescribed by the ordinance.

Because of such challenges, Santelli said he considers Niwot an "endangered species" because "small towns like Niwot that are vibrant are disappearing across the United States of America."

Santelli describes Niwot's vibrancy as having the "pizzazz of personal touch," which he said is being lost in today's society. As an example, when Santelli says he goes into Niwot Market, which he affectionately calls Bert's, after owner Bert Steele who passed away in 2023, Santelli says he takes at least 30 minutes to buy eggs, because everyone knows everybody and everyone stops to chat.

"It's one of those things that's rare and precious," he said.