Vicente Sarmiento | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors from the 2nd district | |
| Assumed office January 10, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Katrina Foley (redistricted) |
| Mayor of Santa Ana | |
| In office December 8, 2020 – December 13, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Miguel A. Pulido |
| Succeeded by | Valerie Amezcua |
| Santa Ana City Councilmember from Ward 1 | |
| In office January 2007 – December 8, 2020 | |
| Appointed by | Miguel A. Pulido |
| Preceded by | Jose Solorio |
| Succeeded by | Thai Viet Phan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vicente Flavio Sarmiento May 11, 1964 Quime, La Paz, Bolivia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Eva Cazas |
| Children |
|
| Parent(s) | Vicente Sarmiento Sr. Irma Sarmiento |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BEc) University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law (JD) Harvard Kennedy School |
Vicente Flavio Sarmiento[a] (born May 11, 1964) is an American economist, lawyer, and politician serving as a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors from the 2nd district since 2023. He was previously the mayor of Santa Ana from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as City Councilmember representing Ward 1 from 2007 to 2020. Hailing from Quime in Bolivia's La Paz Department, he is credited as the first-ever Bolivian American mayor in the United States.
Vicente Sarmiento was born on May 11, 1964, in Quime in the Inquisivi province of La Paz, Bolivia to Vicente Sr. and his wife Irma. When he was a year old, his family emigrated to California, settling in Santa Ana where his father worked as a hotel waiter while his mother provided cleaning services.[1]
He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he met his wife Eva Cazas, an attorney of Mexican descent.[1] He graduated from Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science Economics before continuing his studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law where he received his Juris Doctor. After that, he completed a Certificate Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.[2]
In 1994, Sarmiento's father introduced him to Miguel A. Pulido, whose Santa Ana mayoral campaign he worked to support. After successfully being elected, Pulido appointed Sarmiento as the city's housing development commissioner.[1] In January 2007, he was appointed to the Santa Ana City Council representing Ward 1 in order to complete the term of Jose Solorio who had been elected to the California State Assembly. The following year, he ran for a full term and was elected with 62.7% of the vote. He was subsequently reelected to two further terms in 2012 and 2016.[2]
Sarmiento launched his mayoral bid in 2020, running amongst a field of five other candidates seeking to replace term-limited Mayor Pulido. His campaign ran on housing affordability and ending the city's contract with ICE.[3] In the November 3 vote, Sarmiento was elected mayor with 33% of the vote, beating out second-place Claudia Alvarez by 10,000 votes. Sarmiento's bid was largely supported by younger voters whom he credited as the reason for his electoral success. On December 8, 2020, he was inaugurated as the first new mayor of Santa Ana in 26 years.[4]
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Vicente Sarmiento | 32,768 | 62.70 |
| Jim Walker | 19,490 | 37.30 |
| Total | 52,258 | 100.00 |
| Source: Orange County Elections | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Vicente Sarmiento | 27,289 | 51.96 |
| Estela Amezcua | 25,230 | 48.04 |
| Total | 52,519 | 100.00 |
| Source: Orange County Elections | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Vicente Sarmiento | 36,486 | 55.56 |
| Jessica Cha | 29,183 | 44.44 |
| Total | 65,669 | 100.00 |
| Source: Orange County Elections | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Vicente Sarmiento | 29,493 | 33.06 |
| Claudia Alvarez | 19,247 | 21.58 |
| Cecilia Iglesias | 18,713 | 20.98 |
| Jose Solorio | 14,585 | 16.35 |
| George Collins | 5,217 | 5.85 |
| Mark Lopez | 1,950 | 2.19 |
| Total | 89,205 | 100.00 |
| Source: Official election results | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Vicente Sarmiento | 21,916 | 35.05 |
| Kim Bernice Nguyen | 13,923 | 22.27 |
| Cecilia Iglesias | 10,635 | 17.01 |
| Jon Dumitru | 10,321 | 16.51 |
| Juan Villegas | 5,733 | 9.17 |
| Total | 62,528 | 100.00 |
| Source: Official election results | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Vicente Sarmiento | 48,923 | 51.62 |
| Kim Bernice Nguyen | 45,854 | 48.38 |
| Total | 94,777 | 100.00 |
| Source: Official election results | ||