A FORMER ALLY of San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller is trying to unseat the incumbent in Mueller’s bid for reelection in the June primary election.
Mueller, who was first elected in 2022 to represent District 3, is facing Joaquin Jimenez, the former mayor of Half Moon Bay who once supported him. District 3 stretches from San Carlos and Menlo Park to the county’s coast side, including the cities and towns of Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Pescadero, Montara, and Pacifica.
Jimenez is counting on his community ties to the coast, his advocacy for farmworkers, and his experience on the Half Moon Bay City Council to try to get an edge on Mueller.
“When I was the mayor, I was very engaged in the community,” Jimenez said in an interview. “I’m very active in the community, and I want to do the same. I want to continue but on a larger scale.”
Mueller is asking voters to look at his track record and actions as supervisor.
“We’ve accomplished a lot in my first term in office,” Mueller said in an interview. “My priorities are to continue to do the work we’ve done to raise the public health, public safety and the quality of life of San Mateo County residents.”
Jimenez on coast side advocacy
Jimenez served on the Half Moon Bay City Council representing District 3 from 2020 to 2024 and became the first immigrant mayor in the city. He lost reelection to the council in November 2024 when City Councilmember Paul Nagengast won with about 58% of the vote.
Jimenez’s priorities if elected include boosting the coast side’s agricultural production, establishing a training center on the coast for teaching trades, and protecting the environment. Half Moon Bay and the coast side of San Mateo County have a robust agricultural industry.
He also wants to help get more affordable housing built. While on the Half Moon Bay City Council, he pushed for the creation of an affordable housing development for senior farmworkers at 555 Kelly Ave. That project has yet to break ground but the current City Council recently approved a ground lease agreement.
He also championed the development of Stone Pine Cove in the city, an affordable housing project for farmworkers that was led by Mueller.
“We can now create housing like we did at Stone Pine in other locations of the county,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez once supported Mueller, but a rift emerged between the two when they disagreed on what to do regarding allegations of misconduct against former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus.
Corpus was ousted from office last year by the Board of Supervisors after voters overwhelmingly approved a charter amendment that gave them temporary power to remove the sheriff. A judge upheld allegations that Corpus retaliated against staff and had a conflict of interest in the hiring of her chief of staff, who Corpus was accused of having a romantic relationship with.
Jimenez defended Corpus, while Mueller and the rest of the board wanted her gone.
“I’m still very supportive of her,” Jimenez said. “The Board of Supervisors, they have no respect for democracy. She was an elected official. The way you remove somebody from office is through a recall.”
Jimenez said he would support and work with Sheriff Ken Binder, who was appointed by the board after Corpus was removed. Jimenez wants to continue expanding 21st-century policing, a methodology that focuses on officer well-being and building positive community relations with law enforcement.
“Community engagement is very important,” Jimenez said. “It’s about having our deputies introduce themselves to the community.”
Now running for office, Jimenez has accused Mueller of not advocating for the coast side.
“There is no representation of the community,” Jimenez said. “I’m engaged with the community, and I don’t see him doing that.”
Mueller on first-term accomplishments
Mueller pushed back against this assertion by listing out several actions he has taken to try and improve the coast side.
Mueller led the creation of Stone Pine Cove through working with local, state and federal officials, established the county’s Farmworker Housing Compliance Task Force to inspect living conditions of agricultural workers who are concentrated on the coast, and fought against AT&T’s proposed removal of landlines in the county, which Mueller said are crucial for rural communities like those on the coast.
He also pushed to expedite bringing clean water to schools in Pescadero, a small farming community south of Half Moon Bay. Former Supervisor Don Horsley had started the effort, but the commission had not approved specific permits for the project when Mueller took office.
In 2023, Mueller filled up two jugs of dirty water from the schools and drove all the way to the California Coastal Commission meeting in San Diego to urge the commission to agendize the issue immediately.
“They put it on the next agenda and approved it,” Mueller said.
Mueller also discussed how he established a pilot urgent care clinic on the coast after the region’s only emergency room closed.
“I’m not going to engage in saying negative things about my opponent,” Mueller said. “There’s no reason to do that, because I’m confident that residents on the coast, where he seems to be focusing his argument, know my work.”
Beyond the coast, Mueller also mentioned other initiatives he is proud of, such as pushing to establish the county Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement to evaluate workplace conditions and protect against wage theft.
He also forth a proposal to ban the sale of kratom in the county. Kratom is a substance that acts on opioid receptors and is sometimes sold at smoke shops and gas stations.
“We’re the first county in the Bay Area to do that,” he said.
Mueller said he hopes to continue building on the work he has done if reelected.
“I really enjoyed serving the residents of the 3rd District,” he said.
If either candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the June 2 primary, they win the District 3 supervisor seat. Otherwise, they will face off again in the November election.
