ORANGE COUNTY, CA – With over 98% of the votes counted, and only a 3,000 vote margin, Mayor Vicente Sarmiento declared victory today. After 15 years, Sarmiento finally brings Latino representation to the current Board of Supervisors’ newly drawn Second District that is almost 67% Latino. The district includes Anaheim, Tustin, Orange, Garden Grove, and all of Santa Ana.

Sarmiento inspired broad support with his community-focused message of reducing homelessness, creating safer neighborhoods, and helping working families. “We ran an honest and positive campaign that was responsive to the residents of Orange County, not the special interests,” said Sarmiento. “I’m deeply humbled by the trust of countless people who supported our vision, and will help us write the next chapter in Orange County’s story.”

Mayor Sarmiento’s historic campaign overcame more than half a million dollars in negative ads filled with distorted facts funded by special interests planning to once again dictate the composition of the Board. Fortunately, the people in Orange County’s Second District chose hope over fear, facts instead of lies, and principles over money.

About Vicente Sarmiento

In January of 2007, Mayor Sarmiento was appointed to the Santa Ana City Council to represent Ward 1. He was formally elected as the Ward 1 City Councilmember in November 2008, then re-elected in November 2012 and November 2016. In November 2020 he was elected Mayor of Santa Ana.

As Mayor, Vicente Sarmiento oversaw the adoption of landmark public policy including a Police Oversight Commission, Rent Stabilization, an aggressive Affordable Housing Ordinance, an Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, and Premium Pay for Essential Workers. He accomplished all of this while creating a $40 million surplus, increasing the city’s fiscal reserves, ensuring a Double A credit rating, and making Santa Ana recognized as one of the best managed cities in California.

Mayor Sarmiento currently serves as a Director for the Orange County Transportation Authority. He previously served as the President of the Orange County Water District Board of Directors, Vice-Chair of the Transportation Corridor Agency, and Board Member with the Orange County Fire Authority. Mayor Sarmiento is a member of the Santa Ana Discovery Cube Board of Directors, and a former member of the Board of Directors with the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO).

Mayor Sarmiento graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science Economics and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. More recently, he attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and successfully completed the Certificate Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.

Mayor Sarmiento and his family have lived in and around Santa Ana, and central Orange County since 1965. He attended John Muir Elementary, Sierra Elementary, and Willard Intermediate Schools. Mayor Sarmiento now lives in a 1929 historic home in the Saddleback View neighborhood, three blocks from where he grew up. Presently, he and his wife Eva, also an attorney, are the principal owners of a law practice in Santa Ana. They have three children whom they hope will learn the value of public service and contributing to their community.