|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Former Half Moon Bay Mayor Joaquin Jimenez is challenging incumbent San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller for the District 3 seat on the Board of Supervisors, saying Mueller is “not showing up” for the coastside community and undermining democracy by attempting to oust Sheriff Christina Corpus.
District 3 includes a wide range of San Mateo County, from the bluffs of Pescadero to the downtowns of San Carlos and Menlo Park.
Jimenez, who initially endorsed Mueller, said the coastside and farmworker communities have been neglected.
“When Ray Mueller ran for county supervisor, I supported him, I endorsed him, I introduced him to the community of the coast, to the local farmworker community and I was hoping he would represent us,” Jimenez said.“But I made a decision to run because I don’t think he’s doing a good job for the community. He’s not showing up. He’s involved in other things.”
Jimenez has been involved in local nonprofits and community organizing for more than 20 years. He founded Rancho San Benito, which helps farmworkers become independent farmers and business owners. He served as program director for ALAS, which provides social services for people on the coastside, and worked as a farmworker liaison at Puente de la Costa Sur, which runs programs in the south coast of San Mateo County.
Jimenez immigrated to Half Moon Bay at 13 years old and has lived in the county for nearly 40 years. After majoring in sociology and minoring in Chicano studies at California State University, Chico, he returned to Half Moon Bay to teach, later being involved in a migrant education program before joining the county juvenile probation program.
He was elected in 2020 as the first Mexican immigrant to serve on the Half Moon Bay City Council but lost reelection in 2024.
“I’m a hands-on type of person. I still provide support and resources for the farmworkers…. This is nothing new for me. I’ve been advocating for farmworkers for many years,” Jimenez said. “I have a personal relationship with just about every farm on the coast. Probably close to 100% of the farms have my personal number… They know that I answer their calls and that I’m present.”
He said the county has neglected farmworkers and their housing needs.
“We have our farmers that are going to go out of business, that are going to shut down their farms, because there’s no housing for farmworkers. Farmworkers are struggling,” Jimenez said. “Millions of dollars have been lost because we are losing farmworkers, because we are not taking care of them.”
Jimenez said the issues facing farmworkers affect all county residents.
“Residents should pay attention, because the farmworkers are the ones that harvest the vegetables that they eat. When they go to the local markets, those vegetables and fruits are picked by farm workers,” he said.
Agriculture remains a major industry in San Mateo County. The county’s Department of Agriculture estimates local agriculture contributed $222.8 million to the economy in 2022, the last year for which estimates are available, despite steep declines in output since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 1993, agricultural production in San Mateo County has been cut in half, with the pandemic accelerating the trend. In 2019, the county produced $130 million in agricultural goods. Even after the drought ended, only $99 million was produced in 2023, the most recent year with available data.
One of Jimenez’s main criticisms of Mueller is his focus on removing Sheriff Corpus. Mueller championed Measure A, which gave the Board of Supervisors the power to temporarily remove the sheriff.
Jimenez said Mueller should have pursued a recall instead, arguing it would have been more democratic.
“(Mueller and San Mateo County Supervisor Noelia Corzo) wanted to set a precedent so every time they want to remove somebody who was elected, ‘Let’s have a special election in order to bring back Measure A so you can give me your power, so I can remove this person.’
“It doesn’t work like that. That’s not democracy,” Jimenez said. “A recall is democratic. The sheriff was elected by the people. Only the people can remove them.”
The board pursued Measure A after the county attorney’s office said a recall could not take place until at least November 2025.
“Why are they in a hurry? What’s behind that? People should be questioning that. Why are you in a hurry to remove somebody using tricks? Because that’s using tricks, smoke and mirrors,” Jimenez said. “They had to use Noelia Corzo because she’s another Latina, a woman… to endorse this measure, so it would not look racist. It would not look sexist.”
County officials deny that racism or sexism play a part in the ongoing feud with Corpus.
“The steps taken towards the removal of the sheriff are grounded in serious allegations of violations of the law and neglect of duty. The actions the Board has taken reflect our commitment to accountability. The suggestion that the Supervisor’s votes are based on anyone’s race or gender, or that as a Latina elected official she is being ‘used’ by anyone else is wrong and frankly offensive,” county Spokesperson Effie Verducci said in a statement following a request for comment to Corzo.
Even with Corpus facing potential removal by the board and a grand jury accusation, Jimenez said he stands behind her “100%.”
“Measure A was racist. It was sexist. Her leadership was questioned. Her personal life was questioned. She’s still a strong leader, just the fact that she hasn’t quit, that’s why I’m behind her… that’s encouraging a lot of young women and a lot of young men to be sheriff, to be working in law enforcement,” Jimenez said.
If elected, Jimenez said his priorities would be increasing affordable housing for farmworkers and low-income residents, addressing homelessness, public safety and transportation.
The District 3 seat will be decided in a primary election on June 2, 2026. Unless a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two contenders will proceed to the general election on Nov. 3, 2026.
Guest Opinion: Has the Sequoia Union High School District Board of Trustees lost its way?February 1, 2026 1:50 pm