Three cities in San Mateo County this week officially endorsed Measure A, a ballot initiative that will allow the Board of Supervisors to remove embattled Sheriff Christina Corpus if passed by voters in a March special election.
Belmont, Redwood City, and South San Francisco are the latest cities to take an official stance in opposition to Sheriff Corpus. The cities of San Carlos, Millbrae, and San Mateo have each previously taken a position of no confidence in Corpus.
Calls for Corpus to resign arose after a 400-page investigation into her administration was released in November, containing findings of abuse of power, retaliation, and intimidation in her office.
The Board of Supervisors currently does not have the authority to remove the sheriff or any other elected official, so they moved to put it on the ballot and bring it to the voters.
Calls for Corpus to resign came swiftly following the release of the report, but 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.”
With Corpus refusing to step down, the county moved forward with holding a special election set for March 4 in which voters will decide on Measure A. It is a charter amendment that would grant the board temporary power to remove the sheriff for causes such as violation of law related to a Sheriff’s duties and misappropriation of public funds.
Each city council shared similar reasons for supporting Measure A, saying that the negative effects of a sheriff’s office in shambles trickle down to every city in the county.
“When the county’s law enforcement system is failing, it doesn’t just impact the sheriff’s department,” said Belmont Mayor Julia Mates during Tuesday’s meeting. “It impacts the entire county, including Belmont.”
Even though Belmont, Redwood City, and South San Francisco have their own police departments, they still work closely with the Sheriff’s Office and rely on it for certain law enforcement services.
“Our police force closely interacts with the Sheriff’s Department,” said Redwood City councilmember Diane Howard during Monday’s city council meeting. “Our citizens may interact with Sheriff’s Department staff on the roads within Redwood City and in our unincorporated neighborhoods.”
Most councilmembers from each city agreed that removing Corpus to prevent further disarray in the Sheriff’s Office is an urgent matter that cannot stall.
“Measure A is an opportunity for us to cease the harm that continues to happen and continues to be perpetrated in the Sheriff’s Office,” said Redwood City Mayor Elmer Martinez-Saballos at Monday’s city council meeting. “That’s why we need this extraordinary measure.”
“I don’t believe that we should be holding San Mateo County hostage by waiting,” said South San Francisco city councilmember James Coleman at Wednesday’s meeting.
“Measure A is an opportunity for us to cease the harm that continues to happen and continues to be perpetrated in the Sheriff’s Office.”
Redwood City Mayor Elmer Martinez-Saballos
As for Corpus, she thinks that city councils should not be taking official stances on matters at the county level, she wrote in a statement.
“While collaboration between city and county leadership is essential to our shared success, it is both inappropriate and counterproductive for city officials to engage in politically motivated attacks on county matters–particularly against the highest elected law enforcement official in the county,” Corpus said.
Councilmembers in Redwood City unanimously voted in support of endorsing Measure A, except Jeff Gee, who recused himself because he is a board member of a nonprofit that has contracts with the Sheriff’s Office.
All five city councilmembers in Belmont agreed to endorse it.
In South San Francisco, Vice Mayor Mark Addiego was the sole opponent who voted against supporting the resolution of endorsement. It still passed with a majority vote.
‘A daytime soap opera’
While he is appalled by the situation in the Sheriff’s Office, Addiego found the 400-page report to be lackluster and was skeptical that many of the allegations in the report came from one person.
“When I read this report, it reminded me of a daytime soap opera,” he said. “Everything that I read left me scratching my head.”
He questioned why Corpus has not been charged by District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe with any of the crimes she is accused of.
“Where is D.A. Wagstaffe? When are charges brought? If there’s some criminality here, why haven’t we heard from that?” he said.
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.”
Another one of his concerns is the possibility of future litigation brought against the county if the Board of Supervisors removes her as an elected Sheriff. He thinks the best way to move forward and avoid potential lawsuits is to hold a recall election.
“If the measure passes, then the Board of Supervisors is going to remove her from office. But it may not be over,” Addegio said. “If we have a recall and the voters remove her from office, it’s over.”
