Letter from Rick Hernandez

Dear Coastside Neighbor,

As you consider who gets your vote for City Council in District 4, I want you to know why Debbie has my vote and the endorsement of the San Mateo Daily Journal and our most respected community leaders.

I grew up on the west side of San Antonio, in an area that was transitioning from ranch land to housing. I remember riding my dirt bike through mesquite, surrounded by birds and wildlife, and fishing in a rock quarry. I saw most of that landscape make way for strip malls, parking lots, and gridlock. Today, the best stretches of Hill Country are only accessible to the wealthy few.

The first time I came to Half Moon Bay as a poor college student, it took my breath away. This extraordinary little town with wide-open spaces and a spectacular beach.

Years later, Hilary and I bought land, built our home, and put down roots. We soon learned about plans to "fix" our General Plan. Maps proposed hotels and commercial development where the Coastal Trail was. Slick consultants bragged about how they would "crack" coastal protections. We got upset, and we got involved.

At the time, Half Moon Bay had just lost the Beachwood litigation and faced financial ruin. Developers saw blood in the water and applied intense pressure to unlock land we felt should remain open and accessible to all.

Hilary and I founded Friends of the Coastal Trail. We became involved in local government. We worked with Debbie and others to protect what we love. We learned how much persistence, attention to detail, and unglamorous work it takes to preserve a place like this. Every easy fix can have a dozen awful side effects.

Public service is hard. Sometimes people are mean. You can feel like you're the only person who believes in what you're doing. Other times, you discover you have the full-throated support of 12,000 angry villagers who will carry pitchforks and torches right behind you.

As Debbie's next-door neighbor and frequent collaborator, I can assure you we don't always agree. But I've seen firsthand her willingness to do her homework, ask uncomfortable questions, and protect the city's financial interests. She has powerful institutional relationships and brings home funding for infrastructure and coastal resource protection. She has brought our community tens of millions of dollars for bridges, trails, and public recreation. She got PG&E to start work on more reliable power for District 4. After Beachwood, she led efforts to put the city on firm financial footing and recover millions of dollars from insurers. Under her leadership, Half Moon Bay is #2 in affordable housing production in San Mateo County.

I wasn't here when she organized the "Don't Bulldoze the Bluffs" campaign, when she wrote Measure D, or during many other skirmishes to protect our coast. But in playing my part, I learned that the Half Moon Bay we love isn't here by accident. Generations of Coastsiders stood up, pushed back, and fought to protect it. Pitchforks and all.

Today, the Coastal Act is under attack from the federal government and oil lobbyists. Sacramento is trying to force big box housing mandates that don’t fit here. That is why we need somebody with the skill and breadth of experience to push back the right way. The alternative is a working oil executive specializing in exploitation geology in offshore California, with no real civic engagement other than his support for 555 Kelly as is.

I raised my kids here. I look forward to the day when our descendants can collect tadpoles on Wavecrest, celebrate life on our beaches, or ride their bikes to wild places along the Coastal Trail. I want them to experience the same sense of wonder I felt the first time I came here, and to know that these places belong to everyone, forever.

That's why Debbie has my vote. I hope she'll have yours, too.

If you'd like to learn more about Debbie, visit www.deborahruddock.com.

~ Rick