UPDATE 7:20 p.m. Feb. 14, 2013.
Winners of Patch's Cutest Couple in Napa Valley contest say their top spot may have be due to their political activism.
"I'm not sure what the secret to our popularity is, but we are both very active in the community with local politics," said Alex Shantz, 25, who has been dating Haley Rekdahl; 20, for the past two years.
"We serve on the Napa County Green Party county council together which represents all registered Greens across Napa County," Shantz said.
"We are very excited!," he said of the win.
The couple, who live together -- along with their cat, December -- are both college students at Napa Valley College.
"Haley is planning on majoring in psychology and I am majoring in philosophy," Shantz said.
Shantz said he and Rekdahl have worked together on many local social justice and environmental issues.
He said some of their issues that they care about are:
-Strengthening local businesses to strengthen a truly local economy
-Environmental sustainability and encouraging renewable energy
-Feminism and women empowerment
-Slow growth and preventing urban sprawl
"I think many people in the community appreciate the work we do to make our community and world a more socially just and greener place for everyone," Shantz said. "I believe that is why we got so much support from people."
ORIGINAL STORY, 11 a.m. Feb. 14, 2013.
The votes are in.
Of all the cutest couples in all of Napa Valley -- and there were some amazingly cute couples in the lineup -- Alex and Haley Shantz-Rekdahl won our readers' hearts in our cutest couple contest.
Alex and Haley had some support from their cat, December, who is in the photo.
Runners-up were Nadia and Chris, who also had a fan base with the North Bay Association of Realtors. They are apparently heading for a wedding this spring, according to who posted the photo.
Some 25 cute couples entered the contest, and there were more than 60 votes.
So in honor of Valentine's Day, why don't we congratulate the two happy couples? Leave your best wishes for the lovebirds in the comments below. Then go and give someone you love a kiss.
And thank you to all the happy couples who entered our contest. It's nice to know there's so much love in Napa Valley.
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