Belmont and South San Francisco are the two latest cities to endorse Measure A, which would change the San Mateo County Charter to allow the Board of Supervisors to fire Sheriff Christina Corpus.
South San Francisco’s council voted 4-1, with Vice Mayor Mark Addiego against, to endorse the measure.
Addiego said he is appalled by the situation in the Sheriff’s Office, but found a 400-page report by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell to be lackluster and was skeptical because many of the allegations in the report came from one person. She interviewed 40 people for the report.
“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 Steve Wagstaffe with any crime.
“Where is DA Wagstaffe? When are charges (going to be) brought? If there’s some criminality here, why haven’t we heard from that?” he said.
The South San Francisco council meeting drew a speaker, Dan Stegink of Pacifica, who was wearing a costume from the 1980s TV show “The Greatest American Hero.” Stegink was the lone resident who signed the ballot argument against Measure A.
Other cities that have either passed “no confidence” resolutions against the sheriff or endorsed Measure A have said 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.
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 Councilwoman 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 council members from each city agreed that removing Corpus to prevent further disarray in the Sheriff’s Office is an urgent matter that cannot stall.
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.
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, conflicts of interest, intimidation, homophobia and racism in her office.
The Board of Supervisors currently does not have the authority to remove the sheriff or any other elected official, so they put the charter amendment on the ballot.
The author of the investigative report into Corpus, Cordell, concluded that the sheriff should resign.
“Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority are all the hallmarks of the Corpus administration,” Cordell wrote.
I’ll bet Corpus is pleased to have people wearing super hero costumes helping her campaign. Can things get any more ridiculous than this?
Isn’t that the guy that removed Simitian from the Congressional race?
Biggest questions now are:
what happens when Measure A passes? What happens when the Sheriff fights the results as unconstitutional etc and throws some random cases out there?
Who steps in as Sheriff? What happens until the special election if Parea is acting Sheriff? The real reason he didn’t quit with Fox surfaces… the nightmare will continue well into 2025
The fairy tale ending is a long way away.
The amendment is needed in the 14 California counties that are considered charter counties. The other 44 California counties are General counties.
Charter counties need a voted amendment for the board of supervisors to remove a sheriff WITH CAUSE. Unfortunately , there will still be a process after the measure A is passed. The board has to vote 4/5 present the sheriff with reasons and then the sheriff can respond etc. then the command staff is basically Dan Parea unless there is corruption charges or something on nature filed against the under sheriff. So this will be an ugly battle. A battle to see if the board can appoint someone and then a general election.
This is all very bad on so many levels. Very sad for the people left working at the sheriff office looking for a quick fix to an impossible situation. The trickle down effect begins to unfold into something possibly much much worse than can be imagined. I hope that I am wrong.
Like many people, I feel duped by the lack of legal action from state attorneys, DOJ, FBI, heck the DA- anyone step in and stop the corruption.
When your only supporter is grown man wearing a Halloween costume speaking on your behalf, you’re as good as done! Christina and Victor, pack your bags, the end is near. Also, don’t count out Wagstaffe. He’s a smart guy and will wait for Measure A to pass before he slaps you both silly with a series of criminal complaints.
Did it ever occur to Addiego that the actual events read like a soap opera? Corpus really fired her top assistant for talking to a judge. That really happened. Corpus got expensive gifts like designer boots and Tiffany earrings from a married man. That really happened even if Addiego is too stupid to realize it. This is a telenovela, a real one.