Jim Edwards, Mayor
Updated March 26, 2012
Mayor Jim Edwards was elected to the Cerritos City Council in 2005, was re-elected in 2009, and served as mayor of Cerritos from 2008–2009. A Cerritos resident for more than 35 years, he previously served as a Cerritos Parks and Recreation Commissioner from 1988 to 1997 and 2003 to 2005, and as a Cerritos Community Safety Committee Member from 1997 to 2003.
Mayor Edwards is active in the Cerritos Optimist Club and Vietnam Veterans Association. He is also a volunteer photographer for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. His current community involvement also includes serving on the Board of Directors for Pathways Volunteer Hospice, Community Family Guidance Center Foundation, and the Los Cerritos YMCA. He previously served as president of the County of Los Angeles Cerritos Regional County Park Authority from 2000 to 2002 and served on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association from 1998 to 2001. He was honored with the Spirit of Service Award from the Human Services Association in 2010.
Mayor Edwards is chair of the City’s Budget/Finance and Personnel committees, and is a member of the Performing Arts, Auto Mall, Parks and Recreation, and Senior Services/Senior Center Committees. Mayor Edwards is the City's representative to the Oversight Board of the Successor Agency to the City of Cerritos Redevelopment Agency. He is the Liaison to the ABC Unified School District and the Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Edwards is the Council's delegate to the California Contract Cities Association; the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority; City Selection Committee/Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Gateway Cities Council of Governments – 91/605 Corridor Cities Committee; Sanitation Districts 2, 3, 18 & 19/Waste Management; and the Southeast Water Coalition. Mayor Edwards is the alternate for the League of California Cities and Workforce Investment Board.
Mayor Edwards received his Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education from Whittier College, where he also was awarded a Standard Secondary Teaching Credential. He received a master's degree in Educational Technology from National University.
Mayor Edwards is retired from a career as a teacher and administrator in the ABC Unified School District. He served four years at Whitney Community Learning Center and 30 years at Richard Gahr High School. He was also a part-time instructor at Cerritos College and served for 10 years as the Director of Cerritos College Summer Sports Camp.
Mayor Edwards has nearly three decades of experience in athletics, coaching various varsity sports including baseball, cross country, soccer, softball and track and field. He served as the Director of Athletics at Gahr High School and meet manager for the San Gabriel Valley League in cross country and track and field.
He and his wife Connie have a son and daughter, Scott and Stacy. Mayor Edwards enjoys spending time with his four grandchildren, golfing, traveling, and photography, especially taking pictures for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
