I.B. mayorship still in limbo

It’s officially an undecided election for mayor of Imperial Beach, but the San Diego Registrar of Voters is starting to hint that challenger Serge Dedina’s slim lead of 42 votes over current mayor Jim Janney will probably remain.

“In terms of getting the…votes that would change the result, I don't see it at this point in time,” said registrar of voters Michael Vu on Thursday, November 13, “but that's not to say that it can't happen."

Votes are still being counted in the contest between the staid business-oriented Mayor Janney and his surfing environmentalist political rival Dedina. Dedina was losing by 61 votes two days after the election but has surged ahead in the count of mail-in and provisional ballots.

Before the tally came in on Friday, November 14, Cynthia Paes, the assistant registrar, said there were "around four" votes to be processed from touch-screen ballots and that “a smattering” of mail ballots might still arrive from any of San Diego’s 1432 precincts. Vu had described the possible number of votes still to be counted as “a handful.”

Since Vu and Paes made their comments, five more votes have been counted — all for Dedina, who now leads 2199 votes to 2157, a difference of less than 1 percent.

Mayor Janney could not be reached for comment but said last week when he was in the lead that "it's prudent to wait for the Registrar of Voters to finish his count." About the close race, Janney said, "It's a little stressful but I'm fine."

Dedina has not declared victory but is starting to make noises like he’s preparing to be mayor.

“It could turn back. But that is unlikely,” Dedina wrote in a Facebook update. “At this time I would like everyone to think about how we can come together as one community, one city, and one IB,” he said in an official announcement, “regardless of the outcome of the election.”

Dedina has been a frequent critic of Janney (who’s completing his second term) about local issues such as the privatization of the local sports park and about Janney’s management style.

The registar of voters’ results will not be officially certified until December 2.