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Scanning through radio stations while on the way to work, you might have heard the voice of Michael Santullo.

Santullo spent a lifetime on air, whether you first heard him during his career as a radio news journalist, on one of his numerous talk shows, or as a guest DJ on KUNM playing oldies. Santullo鈥檚 鈥渇irst love鈥� was always the radio, according to an obituary published by the funeral home.

Santullo died Aug. 14, 2024, at age 77. No cause was given.

Santullo is survived by his husband and partner of 35 years, Daniel Gonzales.

鈥淓very time we went to a restaurant, he didn鈥檛 have to say his name,鈥� Gonzales said. 鈥淭hey already said, 鈥極h you鈥檙e Mike Santullo, aren鈥檛 you?鈥� They knew him by voice. I was always freaking out with that because I was very shy when we met.鈥�

Originally from New York, Santullo moved to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 in the 1970s and brought his skill and experience as a talk radio host in America鈥檚 biggest city to sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

鈥淢ike had a very quick wit and a big heart,鈥� said Jay Howard Deme, whose family owned the radio station, KZIA, where Santullo worked.

鈥淗e had a voracious appetite for news, the ability to ad-lib endlessly and an opinion on everything under the sun. How could his talk shows not be compelling?鈥�

Beyond radio, Santullo also had political aspirations. He ran for mayor of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 in 1974, as well as Bernalillo County treasurer and state representative. In 1985, Santullo served as the city鈥檚 communications director.

In 1989, Gonzales and Santullo met through friends and had been together ever since. Though neither believed in the institution of marriage, they married in 2023.

鈥淲e said, 鈥榃hat the heck, it鈥檚 legal now,鈥欌�� said Gonzales.

Santullo also lent his time as the director of the Newsline for the Blind program at the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, an organization that narrated and recorded the daily newspaper so that the visually impaired could stay up to date with the day鈥檚 headlines.

鈥�(Santullo) repeatedly challenged the city鈥檚 establishment, including the newspaper and Chamber of Commerce,鈥� his obituary reads. 鈥淏ut he loved his adopted city and state and strove to make them better.鈥�