As pressure mounts on embattled San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to resign, the Board of Supervisors has finalized plans for a special election next year to decide — in what would be a Bay Area first –whether the board should be granted the authority to remove an elected sheriff.
Corpus is under investigation for allegations of misconduct, corruption and workplace bullying, among other accusations. Independent auditor and retired Judge LaDoris Cordell released a scathing 400-page report last month that upheld 12 of 15 findings related to the allegations.
The San Mateo supervisors issued a vote of no confidence in the sheriff and called for her resignation, as have two sheriffs unions, congressional and state leaders, and the city of San Carlos.
The measure, if passed by voters, would allow the board to remove an elected sheriff for cause with a four-fifths vote, following written notice and an opportunity for the sheriff to be heard, according to the ordinance passed this week.
While supervisors in other Bay Area counties have faced tensions with their sheriffs, none have pursued the authority to remove one. In 2022, Los Angeles County voters approved a measure that grants the Board of Supervisors the power to remove a sheriff for misconduct or neglect of duty.
Corpus has hired attorneys Thomas Mazzucco and Christopher Ulrich, who urged the board to delay action on the special election, giving her time to respond to the allegations now that she has legal counsel.
“The sheriff hasn’t presented her side of the story yet, likely due to a lack of confidence and potential conflicts of interest,” Mazzucco said. “But we’re going to have a serious conversation with the sheriff about doing that.”
In a Monday letter to supervisors, Corpus called the moves to oust her an “attack” on the independence of the sheriff’s office.
“The record is very clear about the harm that the Board and County Staff are doing to me, my team, and the people of San Mateo County through this unprecedented attack on the independence of the sheriff’s office,” Corpus wrote in the letter. “I urge you not to place this on the ballot.”
Mark De Paula, who lives in San Mateo County and is a Corpus supporter, argued that supervisors should not intervene in the sheriff’s potential removal.
“The Board of Supervisors should not be involved in a recall of Sheriff Corpus,” De Paula said. “Sheriff Corpus was elected by San Mateo County voters.”
Community member Ron Snow did not ask for the election to be called off but urged the supervisors to “slow down” at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.
“I think this has gone too far, too fast,” Snow said. “I hope you slow this down, allow the new Board of Supervisors to vote on it and consider moving forward later in the year.”
Two supervisors, David Pine and Warren Slocum, have termed out and will be replaced by Lisa Gauthier, of East Palo Alto, and political heavyweight Jackie Speier, a retired congresswoman.
County attorney John Nibbelin noted, however, that the board has until Thursday to meet the deadline for the March ballot or the election will be postponed until November.
This led Supervisor Ray Mueller to propose formally inviting Corpus to provide sworn testimony and answer questions from the board on Dec. 10. If the board is convinced, they have until Dec. 11 to cancel or postpone the scheduled election.
Corpus’ lawyers have not confirmed whether she will attend the Dec. 10 board meeting.
Supervisor Noelia Corzo abstained from voting on the invitation, expressing concern that even under oath, the sheriff might use the testimony as a platform to “continue to lie.”
According to County Executive Mike Callagy, the estimated cost of the special election is around $3.8 million.
Corpus’ supporters have challenged the findings of the report. Half Moon Bay Mayor Joaquin Jimenez called the investigation a “witch hunt.”
“If Christina Corpus were a man, this wouldn’t be happening,” Jimenez said. “She has transformed the community, and the crime rate on the coast has dropped.”
In his first public interview with ABC 7, Victor Aenlle, Corpus’ former chief of staff, who is a central figure in Cordell’s investigation, denied all findings in the report and claimed that the 40 people interviewed for it were supporters of former Sheriff Carlos Bolanos, whom Corpus unseated in 2022.
Mueller, who along with Corzo has led calls for Corpus’ resignation, rejected Aenlle’s claim.
“These interviewees were some of the most ardent supporters of Corpus during her campaign,” Mueller said.
Corzo and Mueller defended the integrity of Cordell’s report.
“In my seven years as an elected official, I’ve never seen an investigation with 15 allegations under review. That is not normal … 12 of the 15 allegations were sustained,” Corzo said.
Among the more recent findings, an explosive memo dated Nov. 14 from second-in-command Dan Perea to Corpus outlined an alleged scheme to conceal rifles with silencers stored in the department’s executive office.
During a special supervisors meeting last month, Corpus refused to provide sworn testimony until she had legal counsel.
The Deputy Sheriffs Association said in a statement following the vote that they “stand behind” the county’s decision.
“Today, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to call for a special election, asking voters to grant it limited powers to remove a sheriff from office under specific circumstances,” the Deputy Sheriffs Association said. “Sheriff Corpus’s stubborn efforts to cling to power despite the broad and overwhelming loss of confidence in her leadership has made this a necessary, if unprecedented, step toward regaining trust and transparency in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.”
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Source: www.mercurynews.com