Over the past month during my campaign to be the next Mayor of Imperial Beach, I have had the opportunity to talk to a variety of IB residents, business owners, and religious leaders about their vision for Imperial Beach and their priorities for our community.
What I have heard again and again that is it not enough only to invest in the beachfront if we ignore our neighborhoods and the people who inhabit our city, especially our children. I have heard repeatedly that the City of Imperial Beach urgently needs to prioritize investing in safe streets, strong neighborhoods and clean beaches so that our children and families have a secure, safe and happy life.
But more importantly I have heard again and again that we need to make sure that everyone is treated equally and fairly when they interact with the City of Imperial Beach and especially the Mayor. I have been told repeatedly that that we need a Mayor who cares about the residents of our community and treats everyone with respect and dignity.
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We need a Mayor who believe that if members of our community attend and speak at a City Council, then they should be thanked and recognized for contributing to the richness of our democracy rather than made to feel that they are in the way and unimportant. And more importantly, that when residents attempt to contact the Mayor they are given the courtesy of receiving a response.
As a first generation American and 42-year IB resident who attended elementary school, junior high and high school here, what my meetings with my friends and neighbors has reminded me of is that we have a wonderful culture of caring, community, equality and respect in Imperial Beach. But that our ethic of caring and empathy is something that we desperately need down at City Hall, and one of the main reasons I am running to be our next Mayor.
Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
So please join me at www.facebook.com/sergededina4IBMayor and support me in my bid to become the next Mayor of Imperial Beach. Because we need a Mayor of our beautiful, family-friendly, blue collar beach town who believes that everyone should be treated equally and fairly and that our city should put kids, families and neighborhoods first.
Serge Dedina is a candidate for Mayor of Imperial Beach. He can be reached at sergededina@gmail.com or via www.facebook.com/sergededina4IBMayor.
