We know of six letters that were sent to the Editor of the Half Moon Bay Review in support of Joaquin's 2020 election campaign. Four were published, and we were notified of two more. All are reproduced below, in chronological order of submission, with links to the HMB Review website where possible.
Jimenez would bring needed voice to council
Dear Editor:
I am asking you to support Joaquin Jimenez for Half Moon Bay City Council representative in District 3. He brings something important to the council and the community.
His opponent, Adam Eisen, is a good fellow. I do not know him well, but I have met his family and parents. They are all good people. And I should mention that, in total, the City Council members are solid people with good educational backgrounds and solid careers who have made reasonable decisions these past years. But something is missing in Eisen’s background as well as the backgrounds of the other council members; there is a lack of real knowledge of the struggles, concerns and challenges of approximately 31 percent of our community. Joaquin Jimenez has this knowledge. He has lived it.
For those who do not know Jimenez, he attended local schools and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. His career history includes public school teacher, juvenile probation officer and community worker. Currently, he is a community service worker for ALAS, a very prominent local social services agency. He focuses on a variety of issues including locating jobs for people displaced by the pandemic, organizing and coordinating food programs for those with minimal resources, and advocating for the disadvantaged in our community. He is a person with traditional values and is especially committed to preserving the character of Half Moon Bay. He opposes the Dunes Beach resort, but he wants to see development that creates jobs and strengthens local businesses.
We need Joaquin Jimenez on the City Council. Our total community needs to be served. I urge you to support Joaquin Jimenez for City Council.
Jim Holley
Half Moon Bay
Vote for Jimenez for City Council
Dear Editor:
For over 20 years, Joaquin Jimenez has put service to the public before his own private gain. He has worked tirelessly to improve programs that mobilize resources for all the people of the Coastside, including those in the new City Council District 3.
In recent years, I’ve watched him become a frequent and well-respected advocate for his constituents’ interests before the council, and he often turns out large numbers of folks to speak on priority issues.
This man doesn’t sit on the sidelines, and when he speaks, his words are taken seriously by other community leaders.
Now Jimenez has decided to compete for the new District 3 Council seat. A vote for him is a vote for a sustainable environment, community collaboration, equity and small business development in our downtown.
So, when your ballot comes in the mail next week, make a choice for the hard-working candidate in the District 3 race. I believe you’ll be happy that you did.
Paul Grigorieff
Half Moon Bay
It’s time to have someone that cares for the whole community
The Latino Advisory Council of Half Moon Bay, unpublished, October 14, 2020.
Dear Editor:
The Latino Advisory Council of Half Moon Bay is honored to be able to recommend Joaquin Jimenez for the District 3 seat on the City Council. Our time with Joaquin has been one of seeing him grow in advocacy, in community, and in solidarity with our Coastal community.
We have watched Joaquin take leadership in advocating for the voices of those that are often not heard. He has spent late nights, as usually one of the last in City Council meetings, speaking up for fair housing, defending farmworkers, and advocating for better pay for our essential workers. He cares deeply about preserving farming on the Coast and has begun to work on projects to create co-ops for farmworkers that will increase sustainable farming on the coast.
Joaquin has stood tireless in the face of adversity: his faith and family keep him strong. He does this work, not for himself, but for the community he grew up in, for the children he has watched grow in his neighborhood, and for the many neighbors and community members that he takes time to listen to. Joaquín has brought together people of various backgrounds with different life experiences to generate ideas and perspectives that others may not have ever considered or been aware of.
For us, this election is about having a seat at the table during a time in which we must come together as one community, there for everyone. It is our hope that this election will force us to think bigger than what is, and dream of what could be, and what should be. It’s time to have someone that cares for the whole community; it’s time to vote for Joaquin Jimenez for District 3.
Latino Advisory Council of Half Moon Bay
Time to modify City priorities to address all of its citizens
John Moseley, unpublished, October 14, 2020.
Dear Editor:
I am writing to express support for Joaquin Jimenez as a candidate for HMB city council, District 3.
Back in 2004-2008, as a trustee with the Cabrillo Unified School District, many of us were searching for a City representative that could assist us in partnering with the Latinx parent population that comprised 40% of our students. We could not identify said individual.
Subsequently, and after introspection, it appears that our strategies were parochial in that we believed we had the best course of action, rather than partnering with the people that would be affected by our decisions. There were also many ways that the City could partner with the CUSD, yet we did not exploit some of the natural partnerships between cities and schools.
In Joaquin, we have somebody who does nothing but partner with other entities. He has been a tireless advocate for centrally located, sustainable, affordable housing. He loves the beauty of the unique environment we live in, and upholds the Coastside ethos of taking care of each other.
This is a stark contrast to Mr. Eisen. His campaign comments regarding his diligence towards affordable housing creates the image that he is the sole advocate, diminishing the efforts of his colleagues on the City Council. While Adam's record seems to show that he is deliberate in maintaining the status quo of city politic, this IS THE TIME for a forward leading individual to modify City priorities to address all of its citizens.
John Moseley
Trustee, CUSD 2004-2012
Support for Jimenez on Midcoast
Dear Editor:
One of the rationales for district voting is to increase the participation of underrepresented communities, especially the Latinx community which represents a third of Half Moon Bay residents and half of our school population. They are a critical part of our economy, especially the farmworkers and other essential workers. They may have supporters, but they do not currently have a representative on the City Council.
Jimenez has been actively involved in the community for many years. He has firsthand experience with the schools, city and county government, and community organizations. He is endorsed by the city’s Latino Advisory Council and other Latinx organizations and individuals as well as members of the broader community. He is a qualified, competent candidate to represent the Coastside and an especially strong voice for the Latinx community. It’s Time.
Brigid O’Farrell
Moss Beach
Time for Jimenez on City Council
Dear Editor:
I want to congratulate the editorial board of the Review in its decision to endorse Joaquin Jimenez for a seat on the Half Moon Bay City Council. While I supported Adam Eisen in the last election, I agree with the Review that it is time for a change.
I have met with Jimenez and as a business owner in Half Moon Bay, a parent of a student, and someone concerned with our community and unique coastal home, I am pleased to vote for him. Eisen talks about homeschooling his kids, which is fine, but our unique challenges to public education on the coast, which I have witnessed a small part of while on the Half Moon Bay High School Site Council, from creating opportunities for students to retention and attracting teachers, I know there are unique challenges for a wide range of students in our public schools, issues that are so critical. Jimenez just gets it. He understands and listens across the wide variety of interests here on the coast. And he cares. He has ideas and plans that can make a difference. It’s time.
Dr. Elizabeth C. Squiers Half Moon Bay
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