Platform

As your City Council member, Joaquín is working to engage all the voices of our community to generate, together, innovative ideas that strengthen the economy for the benefit of all, create sustainable environmental solutions that both preserve our heritage and help us adapt to climate change, and provide a safe and secure environment for everyone to enjoy a good quality of life and make Half Moon Bay a great place to live.

Housing

Housing is an issue for everyone in our community. Joaquin’s approach to limiting short-term rentals ensures that homes are available for our community members. His support for low-income options such as 880 Stone Pine ensures that more housing options are affordable. Joaquin has worked tirelessly in coordination with other Councilmembers and staff to identify options for future housing, in compliance with Half Moon Bay’s commitment to the state to build 480 additional housing units per 8 years, known as a RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) cycle. Joaquín seeks to preserve the Coastside’s open spaces, and hence his focus is on new housing developments in areas such as downtown: concentrating housing in this way reduces traffic and ensures residents have good access to local services.

Joaquin promised to prioritize building more low-income housing, and he has delivered.
- Led by the City Council, the City is building 47 new units down at Stone Pine road (past the Post Office), following Joaquin’s “smart development” philosophy.
- Preserving the City’s open spaces means focusing on building much-needed new housing in the downtown area. This means residents of the new units can walk to the grocery stores, and help reduce traffic.
Joaquin successfully argued for the City ordinance that limits AirBnb and other short term rentals, which helps keep housing stock available for City residents.
With Joaquin’s support the City Council passed an ordinance aimed at stabilizing rent in Half Moon Bay, protecting renters from rising housing costs or having to move.

This work is far from done: Half Moon Bay residents continue to struggle with the cost and availability of housing, and Joaquin will continue to prioritize supporting them in the next 4 years.

Public Safety

Joaquin’s continued actions in the field support positive change and improved community relationships on the coast. In 2019, he was instrumental in setting up the Yanira Serrano Presente program, which brought together community members and law enforcement for a meet and greet to forge a lasting and beneficial partnership. The CARES program grew out of this shortly thereafter, further bridging the gap between law enforcement and community members in mental health distress. Another prong of Joaquin’s public safety plan is to create improvements on Highway One and in the neighborhoods, to reduce traffic and improve safety for residents and visitors.

Joaquin worked to get the City Council to direct the City to paint new crosswalks in the Arleta Park around Hatch Elementary School, to make it safer for the kids as they walk to school.
Joaquin has forged a strong working relationship with the new San Mateo County Sheriff, Christina Corpus, and is working to improve policing in Half Moon Bay. Progress is being made: the length of each Deputy’s rotation in the City is increasing, allowing the Deputies to form better relationships with community members. This helps avoid misunderstandings and reduce tension.
The CARES team was set up during Joaquin’s first term, to provide mental health professionals alongside the Sheriff’s deputies as part of the first responder team that follows up 911 calls. CARES came about following sustained advocacy and leadership by Joaquin and others following the deaths of Yanira Serrano and Sandra Harmon: CARES makes sure that people get the help they need.

Joaquin and the City Council are working with CalTrans to improve safety on and around Highway 1, and to provide safe paths for cyclists and pedestrians. He will continue to work to improve traffic safety in the neighborhoods of District 3 through better signage.
In the next 4 years Joaquin will continue to work closely with the Sheriff’s office to promote more meet and greet activities between deputies and residents of HMB, and to increase the transparency and accountability of law enforcement in Half Moon Bay through more frequent reporting to the City.

Climate Change

Joaquin believes in climate justice, and is working to help mitigate and adapt to climate change while at the same time supporting the community. Joaquin responded quickly to the flooding in 2022, directly supporting affected community members and advocating for stronger emergency response. Climate change is causing extreme weather events like this to become more and more common. On Joaquin's watch the city hired, for the first time in HMB history, a sustainability management analyst to create the city’s climate change adaptation plan.

Joaquin is working with the City Council and City staff to improve the climate resilience of the City by finding ways to slow down and redirect stormwater runoff and avoid flooding.
Joaquin was a strong supporter of, and helped pass, the City’s electrification ordinance, which ensures that all new housing in Half Moon Bay is fossil fuel-free.
- He voted not to force electrification on existing homeowners, recognizing that many would not be able to afford it. Instead, he has advocated for State subsidies for homeowners to replace gas heating systems and stoves.
From the City Council, Joaquin successfully pushed for an expanded SamTrans bus route, helping the school kids, families and workers get up and down Highway 1, reducing traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.
In the agricultural sphere, Joaquins’ non-profit organization Rancho San Benito trainee farmers are educated in sustainable farming practices including organic crops and carbon sequestration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic Mobility

Joaquin believes that the whole community benefits when its least advantaged members are given opportunities to succeed. Joaquin brought his knowledge and understanding of farming practices to the City Council during its Economic Recovery Initiative, post-pandemic. The outcome of this initiative was the creation of the Opportunity Center of the Coastside
As Regional Director for JobTrain here on the coast, Joaquin’s day-to-day focus is connecting community members with jobs that match their skillsets. He has found gainful employment for farmworkers, landscapers, government administrators, and hotel receptionists, just to name a few. Joaquin brings that working knowledge of the needs of the community to the City Council as it considers policy directions for the City. (He recuses himself from Council decision-making regarding the JobTrain program itself.)

In the next 4 years, Joaquin will bring a trade training center for residents of HMB.
- This center will also provide job readiness services including resume writing, computer training, and interview preparedness.
- A feasibility study will be completed to determine the city’s readiness and to secure funding to bring trade training for residents.

Responsive and Responsible Representation

Joaquin’s approach is to work directly with members of the community to solve the problems they face.

His energy is unmatched. You can find him walking around town, riding his bike along the coastal trail or waving at people from atop his horse on any given Sunday.
His door is always open: he instituted Mayoral office hours, so that anyone can drop in and talk.
He listens to residents’ concerns and takes action to address them.
- The new crosswalks that the city put in close to Hatch is a good example. Joaquin worked with residents to understand what was needed, and then advocated for the Council to instruct City staff to put in the new road markings - which they did.
Joaquin encourages all District 3 residents to get in touch with their concerns, suggestions and ideas via the Contact button above, or by email at jjimenez@hmbcity.com, or by attending City Council meetings and speaking up in the public forum.

Joaquin’s record is one or responsive and responsible representation: he takes a cautious approach when needed (for example, with the electrification ordinance) and he takes oversight of the City budget very seriously. He will make sure that the City does not, in the long term, spend beyond its means.

The deficit has arisen due to rising costs of City services, including the Sheriff’s contract, but also a fall in transient occupancy tax as visitors choose to stay over in town less since the pandemic. Joaquín is committed to finding long term solutions to improving the city’s financial standing:

This year, in response to the deficit, Joaquin and the City Council already increased the transient occupancy tax on hotel room stays in order to boost city income.
Creating multi-day events in the city, like the "Vaquero Days", will help attract overnight visitors, increase city revenue, and support our local hotel businesses.
Joaquín supports Measure R on the ballot this November: this will make a small 0.5 cent increase in city sales tax and bring in enough revenue ($2M per year) to offset half the deficit.

Public service is Joaquin’s life’s work: every job he has had has been, one way or another, in serving the community in which he lives. He brings a unique breadth and depth of experience to the City Council from the positions he has both held in the past and which he currently holds.

Platform

Housing

​

Joaquin promised to prioritize building more low-income housing, and he has delivered.

Led by the City Council, the City is building 47 new units down at Stone Pine road (past the Post Office), following Joaquin’s “smart development” philosophy.

Preserving the City’s open spaces means focusing on building much-needed new housing in the downtown area. This means residents of the new units can walk to the grocery stores, and help reduce traffic.

Joaquin successfully argued for the City ordinance that limits AirBnb and other short term rentals, which helps keep housing stock available for City residents.

With Joaquin’s support the City Council passed an ordinance aimed at stabilizing rent in Half Moon Bay, protecting renters from rising housing costs or having to move.

​

This work is far from done: Half Moon Bay residents continue to struggle with the cost and availability of housing, and Joaquin will continue to prioritize supporting them in the next 4 years.

Public Safety

Joaquin worked to get the City Council to direct the City to paint new crosswalks in the Arleta Park around Hatch Elementary School, to make it safer for the kids as they walk to school.

​

Joaquin and the City Council are working with CalTrans to improve safety on and around Highway 1, and to provide safe paths for cyclists and pedestrians. He will continue to work to improve traffic safety in the neighborhoods of District 3 through better signage.

In the next 4 years Joaquin will continue to work closely with the Sheriff’s office to promote more meet and greet activities between deputies and residents of HMB, and to increase the transparency and accountability of law enforcement in Half Moon Bay through more frequent reporting to the City.

Climate Change

Joaquin is working with the City Council and City staff to improve the climate resilience of the City by finding ways to slow down and redirect stormwater runoff and avoid flooding.

Joaquin was a strong supporter of, and helped pass, the City’s electrification ordinance, which ensures that all new housing in Half Moon Bay is fossil fuel-free.

He voted not to force electrification on existing homeowners, recognizing that many would not be able to afford it. Instead, he has advocated for State subsidies for homeowners to replace gas heating systems and stoves.

From the City Council, Joaquin successfully pushed for an expanded SamTrans bus route, helping the school kids, families and workers get up and down Highway 1, reducing traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.

In the agricultural sphere, Joaquins’ non-profit organization Rancho San Benito trainee farmers are educated in sustainable farming practices including organic crops and carbon sequestration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic Mobility

In the next 4 years, Joaquin will bring a trade training center for residents of HMB.

This center will also provide job readiness services including resume writing, computer training, and interview preparedness.

A feasibility study will be completed to determine the city’s readiness and to secure funding to bring trade training for residents.

​Responsive and Responsible Representation

Joaquin’s approach is to work directly with members of the community to solve the problems they face.

His energy is unmatched. You can find him walking around town, riding his bike along the coastal trail or waving at people from atop his horse on any given Sunday.

His door is always open: he instituted Mayoral office hours, so that anyone can drop in and talk.

He listens to residents’ concerns and takes action to address them.

The new crosswalks that the city put in close to Hatch is a good example. Joaquin worked with residents to understand what was needed, and then advocated for the Council to instruct City staff to put in the new road markings - which they did.

Joaquin encourages all District 3 residents to get in touch with their concerns, suggestions and ideas via the Contact button above, or by email at jjimenez@hmbcity.com, or by attending City Council meetings and speaking up in the public forum.

This year, in response to the deficit, Joaquin and the City Council already increased the transient occupancy tax on hotel room stays in order to boost city income.

Creating multi-day events in the city, like the "Vaquero Days", will help attract overnight visitors, increase city revenue, and support our local hotel businesses.

Joaquín supports Measure R on the ballot this November: this will make a small 0.5 cent increase in city sales tax and bring in enough revenue ($2M per year) to offset half the deficit.

​

Public service is Joaquin’s life’s work: every job he has had has been, one way or another, in serving the community in which he lives. He brings a unique breadth and depth of experience to the City Council from the positions he has both held in the past and which he currently holds.

Responsive and Responsible Representation