In a historic run against incumbent Mayor Adam Eisen, Joaquin Jimenez has become the first Mexican immigrant and first Latinx elected to City Council in Half Moon Bay.
“It feels somehow unreal still,” Jimenez said, 47, who unseated Half Moon Bay’s current mayor Adam Eisen for a seat on the City Council after winning 63 percent of the vote. “But I’ve been working with the city, in the community for a long time. It’s a good feeling. It’s not just my accomplishment, it’s the accomplishment of a group. I’m one of the co-founders for the Latino Advisory Council in Half Moon Bay, so it’s an accomplishment that we’ve been working on for about six years.”
Running on the pillars of sustainability, equity, economy and community, Jimenez’s campaign and win for the District 3 City Council seat is motivated by many factors. He is an advocate for working families, farm workers, people of color and Half Moon Bay small businesses, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before running for City Council, Jimenez has seen his community through several different lenses; as a juvenile correctional officer; a 5th grade teacher at Hatch School; a founder of the Latino Advisory Council and a member of Puente de la Costa Sur. As a current Liaison and Community Outreach Coordinator for ALAS (Ayudando Latinos a Soñar), specifically focusing on farmworkers. Jimenez has worked to bring groceries, PPE and other resources to infected farmworkers, the elderly and other affected community members during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
His diverse occupations contribute to the ways that he sees the Half Moon Bay community, especially as an educator, activist and politician. Outside of his advocacy work, Jimenez has been a resident of Half Moon Bay for 33 years, raising both of his daughters through the city’s educational system, influencing the ways that he views the city. Through professional and personal experience, Jimenez intimately understands what his community needs, and has championed a campaign to support that.
“I was a teacher, an elementary school teacher, I also worked with the migrant education program in the school district…both of my kids went through the public school system here in Half Moon Bay and they did fairly well,” Jimenez said. “My daughter was the last one to graduate, she actually just graduated last year…she just turned 19 in September. So she got to vote for me in the elections, it was her first time voting and she got to vote for her father.”
Jimenez was first motivated to get involved with the Half Moon Bay City Council and local politics after the tragic shooting of 18-year-old Yanira Serrano-Garcia by a San Mateo County Deputy in 2014. Noticing the lack of resources available for Latinos in Half Moon Bay and larger San Mateo County, other concerned community members along with Jimenez formed the Latino Advisory Council. They noticed the clear inequities that Latinos faced in Half Moon Bay, despite making up about 30 percent of the community, especially when it comes to police profiling.
Jimenez shared that he had been a victim of police profiling himself, noting that there needs to be more awareness around the ways that racial prejudice causes harm. After the group’s formation, members made the commitment to attend all City Council meetings, advising and advocating for the needs of the Latino community and other disenfranchised groups in order to bring representation and change to the city. They found that there were many systemic issues that needed to be addressed, such as low wages, rent control and housing. Through advocating for things like a $15 minimum wage, accessible COVID-19 testing sites, and farmworker protections, the Latino Advisory Council aims to protect and advocate for their community.
“The support came from all over the community, the community has been able to see the work that I’ve been doing, the work that the Latino Advisory Council has been doing,” Jimenez said. “Attending city council meetings and being present, promoting our culture and education, I think that was a big part. We ran a really good campaign where our vision and priorities were always in focus. I’m an immigrant, born in Mexico, migrated to the U.S. at 13, and now I’m a City Official.”
Staying true to the work he has done with the Latino Advisory Council, Jimenez’s three biggest priorities on City Council are to build affordable, sustainable housing, creating a safe and welcoming environment for all community members and building a strong economy with local and sustainable businesses. He aims to be the representation that he had hoped to see, encouraging the youth to also get involved in local politics and break barriers in the future.