SAN MATEO COUNTY Board of Supervisors President David Canepa has issued a statement in advance of the Board’s April 8 meeting, where two agenda items will set the stage for discussions on the development of procedures to potentially remove the San Mateo County Sheriff from office.
“Let me be absolutely clear: the board will not be initiating removal proceedings against the sheriff on Tuesday,” Canepa said in the statement. “This is the beginning of a careful, transparent, and fair process. The Board will be considering draft procedures, seeking input from the public, and providing direction to staff on how this process may move forward.”
Canepa added that if the board decides to move forward, the earliest any formal removal procedures could be adopted is April 22. Only then would the process begin that could lead to a formal notice to the sheriff and provide the sheriff with the opportunity to respond, Canepa said.
“As always, due process and fairness will guide our actions,” Canepa said in the Saturday statement.
A San Mateo County measure giving the Board of Supervisors temporary authority to remove the sheriff was certified Thursday and voters overwhelmingly supported it by 84 percent.
Measure A was voted on in a March 4 special election. The charter amendment was spurred by an investigation into alleged misconduct of San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, who has resisted calls to resign from county supervisors, two deputy sheriff unions, and elected city, state and federal officials.
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors resorted to holding a special election after Corpus refused to step down following a scathing 400-page report about her office that was released last November.
The author of the investigative report into Corpus, retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, suggested that the sheriff resign, but did not explicitly point out any criminality.
In her report, Cordell interviewed about 40 current and former employees at the Sheriff’s Office and concluded, “Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority are all the hallmarks of the Corpus administration. Corpus should step down.”
The San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and Organization of Sheriff Sergeants on Thursday sent out a joint statement praising the outcome of the special election.
“While the initiative was in many ways unprecedented, it is our firm belief that, in this case, decisive action was necessary,” reads the statement. “Today’s certified vote means that Sheriff Corpus’ reign of unscrupulous mismanagement will soon come to an end.”
As for Corpus, she has been steadfast in her promise to stay put. She has said the attacks on her are politically motivated because she is a female sheriff up against a group of officers who are part of a “good ol’ boys club.”
Corpus has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the county alleging discrimination and harassment.
Under the amendment to the county charter established by Measure A, removal of Corpus would now require a four-fifths majority vote by the board of supervisors and Corpus will have an opportunity to defend her case. The board’s authority to remove her will expire at the end of 2028.
The board is set to meet on Tuesday.
Corpus was elected in 2022 and became the county’s first Latina sheriff.