Nicole Fernandez has lived in our community her entire life and has spent the last several decades working in various roles in government: as a staffer to Assemblymember and state Sen. Jerry Hill, as a member of the County Adult Protective Services team, and, now, as district director for state Sen. Josh Becker — to make the lives of those in San Mateo County better. Along the way, she has been a lifeline for constituents, a mentor for many newly elected officials (myself included), and a powerful force for progress in San Mateo County.
Her newcomer-to-San Mateo opponent’s decision to characterize her as “running on her connections” is reductive and offensive, to say the least — one wonders if he would have said the same about a man running for office. Minimizing Nicole’s long history of dedication to public service with this attack says more about him than it does about her.
There are very good reasons Nicole has united so many community members and elected officials of vastly different backgrounds and beliefs behind her campaign: chief among them, she has proven herself to be a compassionate, caring and collegial consensus builder who gets things done. Nicole is one of the most qualified candidates to run for San Mateo City Council — ever — and she will be an incredible councilmember.
You challenged Charles Hansen’s characterization of Nicole Fernandez as someone “running on her connections” then wondered “if he would have said the same about a man running for office.” IDK Go to https://charlesforsanmateo.com and pose your question to the candidate pictured on that website.
Thank you for serving your city, Belmont, on its city council.
I read your LTE concerning the San Mateo city council District 2 race with great interest. I noted your endorsement and loyal support of Nicole Fernandez, and that you did not mention Nicole’s opponent’s name in your letter. Charles Hansen. Who is Charles Hansen? According to the DJ, he is currently the chief program officer for Peninsula Family Service. Hansen has served as executive director and CEO for two different YMCA affiliates as well as the executive director for the Salvation Army and Boys and Girls Club in Dallas, TX.
In your letter, you took offense to the other Charles (Hansen) characterizing Nicole as a candidate who is “running on her connections.” That’s interesting because when you were campaigning for a county supervisor seat, a DJ staff writer noted in April 2022, “Among Stone’s list of endorsements is U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo; U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; former state Sen. Jerry Hill; supervisors Don Horsley, Dave Pine and Warren Slocum; the San Mateo County Labor Council; and the Service Employees International Union, Local 521, which represents thousands of county and local employees.” I’m sure those names appeared on your campaign website. Also in April 2022, the Santa Clara University School of Law newsletter announced your candidacy. And lest we forget, seven months earlier, a DJ column described your supervisor campaign kick-off, held in then councilmember Diane Papan’s backyard, was attended by Jackie Speier and Kevin Mullin as well as Jerry Hill plus several other local politicos and labor leaders.
It kinda looks like running on connections is common in these here parts.
I don’t know who the best qualified candidate is running for the San Mateo District 2 city council seat. However, tossing identity politics into the mix is a distraction and is not really necessary. Most of us remember the divisiveness that accompanied the San Mateo city council District 5 race in 2022. Let’s not go there again. Voters in San Mateo District 2 can choose to cast their ballots on November 5 for one of three candidates vying for election to the San Mateo city council: Nicole Fernandez, Charles Hansen or Thomas O’Connor. As local elections are largely popularity contests… running on connections does seem to help.
Thanks for your letter, Mr. Stone, but instead of your opinion on Ms. Fernandez, perhaps you can expand upon what Ms. Fernandez has accomplished to make the lives of those in San Mateo County better. Based on your letter, I see many compliments but don’t see any accomplishments. As such, I’d conclude that although Ms. Fernandez may be a nice enough person it doesn’t mean she’s a qualified councilmember above anyone else, especially those who can point to accomplishments for the greater good.
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(3) comments
Charles
You challenged Charles Hansen’s characterization of Nicole Fernandez as someone “running on her connections” then wondered “if he would have said the same about a man running for office.” IDK Go to https://charlesforsanmateo.com and pose your question to the candidate pictured on that website.
Good morning, Charles
Thank you for serving your city, Belmont, on its city council.
I read your LTE concerning the San Mateo city council District 2 race with great interest. I noted your endorsement and loyal support of Nicole Fernandez, and that you did not mention Nicole’s opponent’s name in your letter. Charles Hansen. Who is Charles Hansen? According to the DJ, he is currently the chief program officer for Peninsula Family Service. Hansen has served as executive director and CEO for two different YMCA affiliates as well as the executive director for the Salvation Army and Boys and Girls Club in Dallas, TX.
In your letter, you took offense to the other Charles (Hansen) characterizing Nicole as a candidate who is “running on her connections.” That’s interesting because when you were campaigning for a county supervisor seat, a DJ staff writer noted in April 2022, “Among Stone’s list of endorsements is U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo; U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; former state Sen. Jerry Hill; supervisors Don Horsley, Dave Pine and Warren Slocum; the San Mateo County Labor Council; and the Service Employees International Union, Local 521, which represents thousands of county and local employees.” I’m sure those names appeared on your campaign website. Also in April 2022, the Santa Clara University School of Law newsletter announced your candidacy. And lest we forget, seven months earlier, a DJ column described your supervisor campaign kick-off, held in then councilmember Diane Papan’s backyard, was attended by Jackie Speier and Kevin Mullin as well as Jerry Hill plus several other local politicos and labor leaders.
It kinda looks like running on connections is common in these here parts.
I don’t know who the best qualified candidate is running for the San Mateo District 2 city council seat. However, tossing identity politics into the mix is a distraction and is not really necessary. Most of us remember the divisiveness that accompanied the San Mateo city council District 5 race in 2022. Let’s not go there again. Voters in San Mateo District 2 can choose to cast their ballots on November 5 for one of three candidates vying for election to the San Mateo city council: Nicole Fernandez, Charles Hansen or Thomas O’Connor. As local elections are largely popularity contests… running on connections does seem to help.
Thanks for your letter, Mr. Stone, but instead of your opinion on Ms. Fernandez, perhaps you can expand upon what Ms. Fernandez has accomplished to make the lives of those in San Mateo County better. Based on your letter, I see many compliments but don’t see any accomplishments. As such, I’d conclude that although Ms. Fernandez may be a nice enough person it doesn’t mean she’s a qualified councilmember above anyone else, especially those who can point to accomplishments for the greater good.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.