San Mateo County supervisors want special election to oust Sheriff Christina Corpus
Growing calls for San Mateo Co. Sheriff Christina Corpus to resign
Several lawmakers in the South Bay are calling on San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to resign as she faces allegations of an improper workplace romance, using racial and homophobic slurs, intimidation and retaliatory behavior.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - San Mateo County supervisors are applying more pressure on embattled Sheriff Christina Corpus to resign.
On Tuesday, the board of supervisors approved unanimously a proposal to place a measure on the March ballot asking voters to amend the county charter to allow supervisors to remove a sheriff with cause with a four-fifths vote.
The move comes a week after a scathing report accused Corpus of having an improper work romance and for using racial and homophobic slurs.
"It does not benefit our community to have the type of chaos that we see happening right now at the sheriff's office," said District 2 Supervisor Noelia Corzo. "We are responsible for the safety net of this county, the safety net of services, and protecting the most vulnerable. And right now what's happening at our sheriff's office is impacting and negatively impacting public safety."
The board of supervisors must hold a second public vote on the proposed ordinance at its meeting on Dec. 3.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Corpus said the supervisors' vote was "wrongheaded and anti-democratic."
The sheriff said, in part, "It is a mean-spirited political scheme. This charter amendment with sunset language that only applies to me is an effort to go around the voters to try to unseat me. I will fight it tooth and nail. I am not going anywhere. The supervisors do not control the Sheriff’s Office. They don’t like that one bit and they never have. This is a shameful attempt at a takeover of this office so they can pick and choose who will serve as Sheriff now and into the future based on their own personal and political whims. If you want a Sheriff out, you hold a recall. This is a blatant attempt to go around the voters. They don’t want a recall vote because they know they will lose."
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The departures come three days after a scathing report was released that contains seven "sustained findings" against Sheriff Christina Corpus.
The calls are growing louder for Corpus to resign, with U.S. Reps. Kevin Mullin and Anna Eshoo, State Sen. Josh Becker, and Assemblymembers Marc Berman and Diane Papan added to the chorus saying her continued tenure impacts public safety.
"The turmoil that is engulfing the sheriff's office is continuing to damage the organization and its members, jeopardize public safety, and is exposing local taxpayers to avoidable liabilities," according to a statement, signed by the five Congressional and state leaders.
The scathing report about the sheriff's office by the investigator and former Judge LaDoris Cordell, released last week, included findings of abuse of power, retaliation, intimidation, homophobia, and racism in Corpus' office.
"I am completely baffled, shocked, and dismayed about the inquiry and its many falsehoods," Corpus said last week. "Claims that I am a racist and a homophobic are not true. I have never and would never use those words."
In the report, San Mateo County Judge LaDoris Cordell said, ""Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority are all the hallmarks of the Corpus administration. Corpus should step down and Victor Aenlle's employment with the Sheriff's Office should be terminated immediately. Nothing short of new leadership can save this organization that is in turmoil, and its personnel demoralized."
Corpus' alleged boyfriend Victor Aenlle, who was previously the department's chief of staff, has been elevated to assistant sheriff.
Aenlle is not a full-time sworn law enforcement officer, and even his designation as a reserve deputy, which he began in 2009, is in question, according to the report.
Corpus has denied the relationship, though county supervisors say the report alleges that the relationship has existed since 2021.
In addition, on the same day the report was revealed last week, Corpus arrested Carlos Tapia, the president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, on suspicion of felony grand theft and theft by false pretenses.
The allegations include time card fraud.
On Friday, San Mateo County's Acting Assistant Sheriff Matthew Fox resigned.
"Our county can no longer afford the chaos and failed leadership of Christina Corpus. Our communities deserve better," the South Bay lawmakers said in their statement.
On Monday, Corpus reiterated that she had no intention of stepping down.
"I am disappointed, but not surprised that more elected officials have decided to pile on me and my office," the sheriff said in a statement. "To the people of San Mateo County, I want to make it clear: I am not going anywhere. You elected me to be your Sheriff, and I intend to continue the hard work of reforming this office and keeping this community safe."