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Politics

Imperial Beach Mayor's Race Still Too Close To Call

Imperial Beach Mayor Jim Janney, left, and challenger, Serge Dedina, November 2014.
Imperial Beach Mayor Jim Janney, left, and challenger, Serge Dedina, November 2014.

Environmentalist Serge Dedina holds tiny lead over Mayor Jim Janney

Imperial Beach Mayor's Race Still Too Close To Call
The race to become Imperial Beach's next mayor could still go either way, says San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu.

There’s still one election in San Diego County that’s too close to call — the Imperial Beach mayor's race. The county's Registrar of Voters Office updated its tally on Tuesday, giving mayoral challenger Serge Dedina a slim lead of 31 votes.

Dedina, who heads the nonprofit conservation group Wildcoast and is an ardent surfer and environmentalist, ran against Mayor Jim Janney, who was seeking his third term.

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The race for mayor in the South County town of 27,000 people has been tight since the first ballots were counted on Nov. 5, and just a few days ago, the candidates were literally tied — with 1,928 votes each.

Registrar of Voters Michael Vu said the relatively small number of voters in Imperial Beach made for an especially tight race where every vote counts.

“For people trying to get out the vote, this is one of those situations where it really did matter,” Vu said.

The race could still go either way, he said. There may be provisional ballots yet to be counted, possible challenged ballots and ballots from touch screen voting machines.

Vu said it’s unknown exactly how many ballots are still left to count.

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The final results will be certified on Dec. 2.

The 2024 primary election is March 5. Find in-depth reporting on each race to help you understand what's on your ballot.