Vicente Sarmiento

Vicente Flavio Sarmiento (born May 11, 1964) is a Bolivian-born 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.

Early life and education 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.

He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he met his wife Eva Cazas, an attorney of Mexican descent.

Political career 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. 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.

Electoral history