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Longtime Menlo Park politician and incumbent Ray Mueller will face a Coastside challenger for the District 3 seat on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Former Half Moon Bay Council member Joaquín Jimenez is running for the seat in hopes of better representing farmworkers.
District 3 spans a wide swath of San Mateo County, encompassing some of its wealthiest communities as well as its rural areas. The district includes Atherton, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Woodside and San Carlos, as well as parts of Belmont and most of the Coastside, including Pacifica, Half Moon Bay and unincorporated communities.
Mueller, an attorney, was first elected to the county board in 2022 after serving a decade on the Menlo Park City Council. His first term at the county was eventful: Mueller was one of the leaders of the effort to remove former Sheriff Christina Corpus from office after allegations of misconduct surfaced.
Jimenez has a long history of community activism on the Coastside with a focus on farmworkers. He immigrated to Half Moon Bay from Mexico at age 13 and un 2020, he became the first Mexican immigrant elected to the Half Moon Bay City Council. He lost his reelection bid in 2024.
Voters will choose the District 3 supervisor in the June primary. Because there are only two candidates, the race will not appear on the November ballot.
The historic removal of San Mateo County’s elected sheriff is an issue that separates the two candidates, with Mueller advocating strongly for removing Corpus while Jimenez counts himself among her supporters.
“It was a major, historic event that affected residents not only in West Menlo Park but also in how our jails are run,” Mueller said.
After concerns about Corpus’ leadership emerged in 2024, the Board of Supervisors hired a retired judge to investigate complaints of retaliation and conflict of interest against her and her chief of staff, Victor Aenlle. After voters approved Measure A, giving the county supervisors authority to remove a sheriff, they did so unanimously — a first in California history.
Since then, Mueller and newly appointed Sheriff Kenneth Binder, who is serving out the remainder of Corpus’ term, have held several community meetings across District 3.
“I take pride in the fact that I helped lead the county through the stabilization of the sheriff’s Department,” Mueller said.
Jimenez is a staunch ally of the former sheriff and said he stood by Corpus “100%” before she was removed from office.
“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 has said.
If elected, Jimenez said his priorities would be economic mobility, public safety, affordable housing and environmental justice.
He wants the county to do more to support farm workers and grow the local agriculture industry. “It’s a big opportunity for a lot of people who are new, small businesses,” Jimenez said. “(It) will help the economy and increase food production and food security.”
Jimenez said he wants to see more Sheriff’s Office programs on the Coastside that help vulnerable people feel connected and comfortable with county law enforcement.
“It’s a new era of policing: more law enforcement engagement with our community is a big deal. We want to see our officers engaging with our community,” Jimenez said. He added that local law enforcement needs to have a better presence at community events like the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival.
While Jimenez wants to develop programs that can help low-income individuals with home ownership and affordable housing, he also thinks developments need to be “smart” and appropriate for their communities. He opposes the proposed Pacifica Quarry development and said housing should not be forced on cities without adequate infrastructure.
Mueller cited public safety as a focus in his first term, along with assisting cities in District 3. He worked with District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe and Supervisor Jackie Speier to launch a unit focused on investigating human trafficking and protecting victims. He also co-sponsored the creation of the county’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement to address wage theft and unsafe working conditions.
Mueller pushed to close a newly opened West Menlo Park smoke shop after the county alleged it violated rules meant to protect children. Sheriff’s deputies later said they found evidence of illegal drug sales. Mueller then successfully campaigned for the county to ban recreational nitrous oxide, or “whippets,” and become the first Bay Area county to ban kratom, a botanical substance often marketed as a dietary supplement but which health officials warn can be addictive and harmful.
Following a recent increase in burglaries in West Menlo Park, Mueller said he worked with residents in both unincorporated areas and the city of Menlo Park to boost awareness and preparedness.
Challenges ahead
Whoever is elected to the Board of Supervisors in June will need to deal with serious challenges facing San Mateo County. The county may lose over $70.8 million for state funding for the last fiscal year that county officials say it is owed as part of in-lieu taxes the state distributes to local jurisdictions. The county has said that if California does not fully fund the missing in-lieu taxes, it would have to close eight homeless shelters that serve 3,000 people, cancel the construction for 437 affordable housing units and eliminate financial assistance programs that serve veterans, families and seniors.
If forced to make budget cuts, Jimenez said he would prioritize programs that are financially sustainable and can support people across the county. One of his ideas is to help direct locally grown food to food banks and hospitals. But he also would want to take a look at current programs and ensure they are targeted at people with the most need. Jimenez said an example of the types of spending he does not support is a grant of $20,000 in sales tax revenue to the Pacifica Historical Society’s restoration of a 1900s rail car.
Mueller pitched the funding to the Board of Supervisors, which approved it on Oct. 21, 2025, because the railcar would be used to support student education and preserve a piece of county history, according to Coastside News.
Jimenez contends that the Pacifica Historical Society should not have gotten taxpayer funding while others in the county were struggling.
“That group has a membership, they pay a membership fee. They could do their own fundraising for that. I don’t see why it is the county’s place to invest,” Jimenez said. The funding came from Measure K revenue, a 0.005% sales tax that voters renewed in 2016 to pay for quality of life services.
If needed, Jimenez said he would support a temporary tax to help pay for services that could be canceled due to state funding cuts, but only after the county exhausts any potential budget saving measures.
Mueller was one of two supervisors who did not support the county studying an increase in sales tax, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal.
Mueller said that, in addition to the county’s budget challenges, as a county supervisor, it’s his job to try to support cities in his district through their own budget issues. Mueller helped Portola Valley officials mull their options, including a potential sale-and-leaseback of its town center, as it faces an ongoing financial crisis.
Mueller has a long list of endorsements, including federal and statewide leaders, notably Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) and Gov. Gavin Newsom. He is also endorsed by every member of the city and town councils of Portola Valley, Woodside, Belmont, San Carlos and Pacifica. He is also endorsed by three of his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors, Speier, Noelia Corzo and Lisa Gauthier.
Jimenez said he did not seek endorsements.
Information about Mueller’s campaign is at voteraymueller.com and about Jimenez’s campaign at joaquinjimenezforsupervisor.com. Register to vote at smcacre.gov/elections/voter-registration.
