Our readers select de la Libertad as the 2012 Santa Ana Man of the Year

Our readers have spoken and their Santa Ana Man of the Year for 2012 is Armando de la Libertad, the CEO of the Delhi Center.  Congratulations to de la Libertad!  Not only is he a top local non-profit leader, he is also a great dad and husband, and an avid skateboarder. 

De la Libertad ran for the State Assembly in 2006, in the Democratic primary, according to one of our previous articles about him.  Although he did not win, he went on to make a big impact in our community as the Senior Vice President of Community Development at Wells Fargo’s Social Responsibility Group.  He left a community relations job at Wells Fargo to become the CEO of Santa Ana’s Delhi Center.

Here are the voting results:

Who is Santa Ana’s 2012 Man of the Year?

Total votes: 701

Sean Mill, Planning Commissioner (25 votes, 3%)
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Miguel Pulido, Mayor (35 votes, 4%)
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David Benavides, Councilman/Mayoral Candidate (22 votes, 3%)
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Ken Nguyen, Candidate, OC Board of Education (3 votes, 0%)
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Omar Ávalos, Editor, Santa Ana Sentinel (24 votes, 3%)
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Jeff Dickman, French Park/SaCred (17 votes, 2%)
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Benjamín Vázquez, El Centro Cultural de Mexico (20 votes, 2%)
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Paul Walters, City Manager (23 votes, 3%)
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Scott Overpeck, Laundry Love (228 votes, 32%)
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George Collins, Videographer/Mayoral Candidate (4 votes, 0%)
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Armando de la Libertad, Director, Delhi Center (305 votes, 43%)
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Jose Solorio, Assemblyman/RSCCD Trustee (5 votes, 0%)
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Dave Leon, Yost Theatre/Velvet Lounge (14 votes, 1%)
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Nathan Hittle, Downtown Inc./S.A. Restaurant Assoc. (14 votes, 1%)
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Julio Perez, Candidate, 69th A.D./Labor Leader (22 votes, 3%)
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Roman Reyna, SAUSD Trustee/City Councilman (10 votes, 1%)
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Lou Correa, State Senator (11 votes, 1%)
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Thomas Gordon, RSCCD Candidate (25 votes, 3%)
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Dwight Smith, Orange County Catholic Worker (24 votes, 3%)
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Cheerios, Icon (passed away this year) (33 votes, 4%)
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Scott Glabb, Santa Ana Athletic Foundation (6 votes, 0%)
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Alex Flores, Santa Ana College student leader (6 votes, 0%)
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Rob Richardson, SAUSD School Board (5 votes, 0%)
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Gerardo Mouet, Parks and Rec Agency Director/OC Fair Board (12 votes, 1%)
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Robert Hammond, OC Board of Education (20 votes, 2%)
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Tony Tapia, RSCCD Board candidate (12 votes, 1%)
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Stanley Fiala, Businessman (8 votes, 1%)
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Thanks to all of our readers for voting in this annual survey!

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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