Poll: Who was Santa Ana’s Man of the Year in 2010?

UPDATE: Voting will close on Friday, Jan. 7, at 10 am

This poll is now closed.  Find out who won at this link.

Who was Santa Ana’s Man of the Year in 2010?

That is a simple enough question, but coming up with an answer isn’t easy.  As such, you may vote for up to three nominees in the poll above.

Let me know if  I need to add anyone to the poll.

My personal choice is Mayor Miguel Pulido.  He was attacked on all sides and his main opponent, Alfredo Amezcua, spent over a quarter million, from what I am told.  Most of that money was spent on negative mailers.  Yet Pulido won, and he won handily.  Now the ball is in his court and he has two years to show the voters what he can do, as he has been doing for so many years.

Amezcua certainly belongs on the list.  He resuscitated his political career and put himself on the map, even though he lost.

Charles Hart also ran for Mayor, and while many of his early supporters jumped on Amezcua’s ship late in the game, Hart acquitted himself well, particularly in the debates.

But not all of the nominees are politicians.  Francisco Barragan spent the summer doing what he has been doing for several years, volunteering for a number of charitable and community organizations.  He also wrote quite a few posts for us.

And Jeff Dickman stayed active even when he was dismissed from the City of Santa Ana’s Historical Resources Commission.  He led a lawsuit against the city, stopping the Transit District development, which included affordable housing.

What about Sammy Montoya?  His restaurant, La Chiquita, celebrated its 60th anniversary this year.  Amazing!  And he also continued to book events at the Green Parrot, while growing his catering business and starting a new high-tech venture.  He is quite a whirlwind!  He was even honored by Mayor Pulido and the Santa Ana City Council this year.

I also included Councilman David Benavides in the poll.  He won reelection easily, as he faced no opponent in November, but he got in hot water with the rest of the City Council over his support for Minuteman Lupe Moreno, who ran a 4th of July event that backfired when one of her fellow Minutemen called a Santa Ana resident a “wetback,” and the incident got caught on video by activist Naui Huitzilopochtli, who is also in our poll.  But Benavides persevered and today he has four more years to spend on our City Council.

Councilman Sal Tinajero also deserved to be on the list.  He did a great job with his public school debate team this year, helping a lot of disadvantaged kids to succeed.  Many of his students have gone on to do great in college because of his efforts.  And he, like Benavides, was reelected easily – but Tinajero beat two candidates who ran against him.

I also added Hugh Nguyen to the poll.  He ran, in June, for O.C. Clerk-Recorder and  he helped his uncle to open the new Lee’s Sandwiches in Santa Ana last year.  They just celebrated their first anniversary a few weeks ago.

Again, let me know if I overlooked anyone.  And thanks for voting!  We will be following up this article with another one asking who was Santa Ana’s Woman of the Year in 2010.