My name is Rosamaria Hernandez. For many years I have been an active member with the National Latino Peace Officers Association alongside Joe Lopez, who is running for the San Jose City Council.
During our time at the NLPOA, I have seen Joe work with and mentor many young officers – even helping students pursue careers in law enforcement with scholarships from NLPOA. Those scholarships have helped many young people, particularly from communities of color, get a quality education and start a rewarding career serving their community.
But I’ve known Joe for much longer than our time with NLPOA and over the years I have seen his commitment to fighting for social justice only grow. That’s why I was so appalled when I saw the political attacks coming from Joe’s opponents that falsely portray him as being against LGBTQ rights, and against a woman’s right to choose.
Anyone who knows Joe – me included – knows that’s ridiculous, and even insulting. Joe has fought for social justice nearly his entire life and has the record to prove it – and it’s a record I acknowledge.
I met Joe when he first started at San Jose State University. As a young man, Joe was working with the United Farm Workers, alongside Cesar Chavez, fighting for the rights of farmworkers for better working conditions and better pay.
As a young police officer Joe was discriminated against as a Latino. He helped win the removal of the 6-foot height requirement and activated bilingual pay that many Latino officers benefit from today. These changes have also benefited anyone applying for a law enforcement position and developing a career. As a member of the Deputy Sheriffs Association Union, he negotiated contracts that gave him and his fellow deputies the protections they needed to do their jobs, keep us safe and support their own families, along with valuable benefits to this day.
And throughout all those years, Joe has also been a devoted husband and a loving father who always put his family first. The idea that Joe would ever try to tell anyone what choices they should make for their family – whether it’s the right of a woman to make decisions about her own body, or the right of anyone to marry who they love – is nothing more than a dirty political attack meant to mislead voters, rather than have a real debate about the solutions our community faces.
We should all be very concerned when status-quo politicians are willing to lie so blatantly. And as someone who has known Joe for as long as I have, I hope you will take a moment to learn more about where he really stands on these issues.
Thank you,
Rosamaria Hernandez
City of San Jose, Retired
NLPOA, Santa Clara County Founding Chapter 1974
Board Secretary & Lifetime Member
