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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2023
Contact: Brenda Arguelles – barguelles@imperialbeachca.gov
Imperial Beach, CA — On February 22, 2023, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon appointed Paloma Aguirre, Mayor of the City of Imperial Beach to the Coastal Commission as the San Diego Coast Representative for the remainder of former Commissioner Steve Padilla’s term to expire on May 20, 2025.
“I am delighted to be able to appoint Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre to the California Coastal Commission. Her work as an alternate to the Commission over the past few years has been stellar, so I’m happy that her service will continue as a full-time Commissioner. Mayor Aguirre’s commitment to environmental justice, educational experience in marine biodiversity, and her professional experience in environmental preservation will be a benefit to all Californians, and the health of our coastline. I am confident she will be a champion for our state’s coast”-said Speaker Rendon.
“On behalf of the Coastal Commission I want to thank Speaker Rendon for appointing Mayor Aguirre to the Commission. She is an important & effective voice for the border coastal community that she represents and the challenges that her community and thus the State must address every day,” said California Coastal Commission Chair, Donne Brownsey.
Mayor Aguirre is the first Latina mayor to lead the City of Imperial Beach. She was first elected in 2018 as a councilmember at-large and was elected mayor in 2022. She has been working for over seventeen years to address Imperial Beach’s most pressing threats to its quality of life, including both environmental and public health issues.
“I am honored to have been appointed to the commission, particularly as our state’s coast faces the impacts related to climate change. As the leader of a frontline community, which has been experiencing the existential threat of sewage pollution, sea level rise, and rapidly increasing cost of housing, I look forward to bringing an environmental and social justice lens to the decisions we make collectively at the commission. Environmental sustainability and equitable coastal access will be a priority for me as we work to ensure all Californians can enjoy our coast and precious natural resources.”
Mayor Aguirre moved to Imperial Beach in 2003 to pursue a college education and competitive bodyboarding. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of San Diego, and a Master of Advanced Studies in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego. In 2016, she served as U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s NOAA Knauss Sea Grant Fellow in Washington D.C.
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The Commission is committed to protecting and enhancing California’s coast and ocean for present and future generations. It does so through careful planning and regulation of environmentally sustainable development, rigorous use of science, strong public participation, education, and effective intergovernmental coordination.
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