JOSEPH M. FRANCIS

 

             One of the most active workers for his own district and the county at large is Joseph M. Francis, chairman of the Board of Supervisors and Supervisor of the Fourth Township of San Mateo County.  Mr. Francis is serving his seventh year as Supervisor and his second year as chairmen of the county board.

             Few Supervisors in California can boast of more satisfied constituents than “Joe” Francis.  He secured good boulevards for his district and improved the streets of Halfmoon Bay so that they are now the best streets in any unincorporated town in the county.  So well satisfied were the residents with Mr. Francis’ work on the board that when his name was submitted for re-election in 1912 he was elected as the candidate of all three parties.  Even eighty-six of the ninety-one Republican voters in one precinct took the trouble to write his name in on the ballot at the primary.

             While Mr. Francis has been in office the ocean boulevard has been completed throughout its length in his township, the Crystal Springs road to San Mateo has been boulevarded, and Marine View, Farallon and Purissima roads have been built, in addition to the extensive street improvements in Halfmoon Bay and the other coastside cities.

             Supervisor Francis has keen plans in store for the future.  The money is already available for the improvement of the Crystal Springs boulevard from Halfmoon Bay to the Second Township.  He also plans to build a road into Purissima Canyon, opening up to motorists one of the beautiful spots in San Mateo County.

             Supervisor Francis has been one of the most progressive members of the county board.  He was one of the strongest advocates for the passage of the $1,250,000 bond issue for good roads and no one supported the bonds more enthusiastically than the people of his township.

             None has a more thorough knowledge of the fourth township than Supervisor Francis, who was born in Halfmoon Bay in 1872 and who has been a resident there ever since.  Supervisor Francis’ long residence in Halfmoon Bay is no more a matter of pride to him than the fact that he has never passed beyond the boundaries of his native state.

             Most of Supervisor Francis’ property interests are in and around Halfmoon Bay.  Francis Bros., general merchandise, is one of the oldest and largest establishments on the coastside.  Mr. Francis is also the president of the Bank of Halfmoon Bay.

             Supervisor Francis comes from one of the oldest families on the coastside, his parents settling at Halfmoon in the early sixties.  They were ranchers and merchants, and the days that Mr. Francis did not spend at Halfmoon Bay Schools he spent on his father’s ranch.

             Mr. Francis is a member of the San Mateo Lodge of Elks, and of the Native Sons and the Eagles of Halfmoon Bay.

 

Transcribed by Betty Wilson