Serge Dedina is the current mayor of

Imperial Beach Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and Executive Director of Wildcoast, a non-profit environmentalist group. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he was elected 18th Mayor of Imperial Beach in 2014.

Personal life

Dedina was born in 1964 in

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, California to a Jewish father and a British mother. Dedina moved to Imperial Beach in 1971 and attended elementary, middle, and high school there. Dedina went on to study at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

graduating with a B.A. in political science. Dedina also has an M.S. in geography from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and a Ph.D. in geography from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

. Dedina lives in Imperial Beach with his wife Emily and sons Daniel and Israel. Dedina is a former lifeguard and self-proclaimed avid surfer. Apart from his mayoral duties, Dedina manages Wildcoast at its Imperial Beach headquarters.

Activism

He is the former Northwest Mexico Program Manager for

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

's Baja California Program. In his capacity as director Dedina lobbied for the development of the San Lorenzo Marine Archipelago National Park in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 1988, Dedina successfully lobbied the Mexican government for San Ignacio Lagoon, a gray whale breeding zone, to be included in the

El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve The El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, created in 1988, is located in Mulegé Municipality in northern Baja California Sur, at the center of the Baja California Peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. With an area of over ), ...

Controversies

In 2005, Dedina's Wildcoast launched a media campaign starring former

Playboy Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Play ...

Dorismar in a series of provocative posters proclaiming "Sea turtle eggs DO NOT increase sexual potency!" The advertisements featured Dorismar in revealing thong underwear exposing her bare buttocks. These advertisements drew ire from women's rights groups, and several environmental groups refused to be associated with the campaign. In 2016, Dedina issued a citywide proclamation declaring Imperial Beach to be a "Welcoming City" and directed "city departments to ..help provide services to families legally relocating to the City of Imperial Beach." Many Imperial Beach residents interpreted the language of the proclamation as a veiled attempt at labeling Imperial Beach as a Sanctuary city. Due to a large outpouring of community outrage the Mayor was forced to rescind his proclamation after significant citizen backlash at an open city forum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dedina, Serge 1964 births Jewish mayors of places in the United States American people of Serbian-Jewish descent American people of English descent Living people American environmentalists People from Imperial Beach, California California Democrats University of California, San Diego alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni 21st-century American politicians Jewish American people in California politics Activists from California Jewish American activists 21st-century American Jews