This story was originally published in the Friday morning print edition of the Daily Post. To get all of the important local news first, pick up the Post in the mornings at 1,000 Mid-Peninsula locations.
BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
The San Francisco police union has sent a letter to San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus telling her she’s not welcome at an event celebrating women on patrol.
Tracy McCray, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, said Corpus should “do the right thing for once” and stay home to work on her resume rather than attend the March 5 event.
McCray compared Corpus to a Third World dictator in a statement to the Post Thursday. “We are a union that is sickened by your lust for power,” McCray said in the letter.
The San Francisco police union noticed when Corpus arrested Deputy Carlos Tapia for alleged timecard fraud on the same day the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors released a bombshell report by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell on Corpus’ alleged mismanagement.
Tapia, president of the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s union, made clerical errors on his timecard but didn’t commit a crime, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Capt. Brian Philip resigned rather than arresting Tapia and is now suing Corpus and the county. Assistant Sheriff Matthew Fox quit two days after Tapia’s arrest.
The San Mateo County deputy’s union said the arrest wasn’t a coincidence, timed with Cordell’s report in retaliation against Tapia as a whistleblower.
Cordell’s report has become the basis for a special election on March 4, when voters will decide whether to give supervisors the power to remove Corpus.
Cordell’s report found Corpus “relinquished control” of the sheriff’s office to her lover and former Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle, a real estate broker who has left deputies demoralized by his paranoid obsession with loyalty, Cordell said.
“Nothing short of new leadership can save this organization that is in turmoil,” Cordell said in her report.
Corpus couldn’t be reached for comment. She has previously denied the allegations in the Cordell report and said her opponents are part of a “good old boys’ club” who are resistant to change.
Corpus, previously the captain in Millbrae, was elected in November 2022 over incumbent Sheriff Carlos Bolanos.
The event in San Francisco is the day after the special election to celebrate 50 years of women on patrol.
McCray said in her letter that the union received an RSVP from Corpus, but her presence would be an affront to the legacy of female police officers.
“We will not let this important event become a political spectacle for someone trying to cast a good light on themselves at the expense of the public servants we are honoring,” McCray said.
“Further, (Corpus) really needs a reality check if she thinks we would host someone who abuses the power of their office to arrest a union leader for no purpose but their own political protection and gain. That’s the behavior of a Third World dictator, not a community’s chief law enforcement officer. Not on my watch.”
Is she nuts? How did she think people would take her appearance at this event? She must be living in a bubble.
In an interview on NBC Bay Area, she spouted that she didn’t even take the time to read the SFPOA letter. Yes on Measure A.
You are all hypercritical. She’s a good leader.
Well, the Sheriff’s Office rank and file, first line supervisors, mid-managers and the command staff apparently think otherwise. They’re in the trenches day in and day out. Maybe she could had been a “good leader” had she either removed or reined in Aenlle.
First a supporter of Corpus is arrested for stealing “Yes on A’ signs. Then another supporter puts on s super hero costume to argue on her behalf at a city council meeting. Then she has a rally that draws fewer than 50 people. Now she’s turned away from a “Women in Law Enforcement’ event. You’d think this is a comedy show.
Yet another example of the Sheriff’s disrespect to Unions. She doesn’t read the letter and on nbc news tonight she has the audacity to say she hasn’t decided if she is going to this event- because she was invited by a captain! A clear message that she doesn’t care about the people and that unions don’t matter.
What a weak unqualified example of a female leader. Resign Corpus- just resign!
Key word:
“I” didn’t read the union letter
“I” have to decided if I am going
“I” was invited
“I” am trying to reform the department with no examples
“I” am not at work again just hanging out by a fire place wasting tax payer dollars
“I” was voted in by 80,000 people in 2022-
A lot of time the sheriff speaks of herself and her own agenda and isn’t living in 2025 in reality has list her support across the board. Measure A “WE” rhetoric voters hope to see a clean sweep of YES VOTES!!!
Insightful observations in the, Eye on myself, comments. Corpus repeatedly embodies myopia, among other things. Corpus is incredibly short sighted, with tremendous intention. Yet she takes that personality flaw a step further to essentially proclaim that, in her eyes and perceptions, the ends justify the means. In a society based on the rule of law, Corpus ignores that very foundation.
In the instant case, Corpus ignores the fact that this SFPOA hosted event is a private one, at a private venue. Corpus doesn’t seem to understand that SFPD captains may not be members of the rank and file labor union known as SFPOA. A question of whether she is attending is not an invitation to attend. Corpus is very unlikely to attend the event, then by doing so subject herself to arrest for trespassing (if she were to attend then refuse to leave after this public warning letter).
Corpus has consistently and firmly demonstrated that she cannot set, nor meet, appointments. Not subpoenas to testify in the Barker case. It happened again with Judge Cordell’s request to interview her. Corpus has yet to be interviewed by the Board of Supervisors. No interview with The Post on these many articles. It was mentioned again by Mark Simon in his recent The Game interview with SMSO union officials that Corpus indicates she is willing to be interviewed, then has no more contact. A very predictable pattern of behavior.
Corpus undoubtedly appears self-centered and unable to embody her organizational tagline of, people first~service above self. Corpus disregards the physiological (survival) needs of the members of her own organization, the workforce. Instead Corpus appears to operate through intimidation; even public safety members can be fearful of losing their otherwise secure jobs and livelihoods when she and her cronies appear corrupt. Just ask Carlos Tapia. SFPOA President McCray is directly on point with her comparison of Corpus’ behavior as that, “of a Third World dictator”.
Good thing that SMCo has a surplus. It will be gone and then some after settling all the lawsuits against “Sheriff” Corpus.
Hopefully, the voters will wake up to the phony candidates relying on the issue de jour in the future. I doubt it.
As I listened to Sheriff Corpus respond last night on NBC interview , it really came through just how thin skinned and delusional she is. What a vile human.
She told the reporter that “a SFPD Captain invited her” .. she could barely get the words out of her mouth. She says she doesn’t get down in the gutter? Yet she is carrying on an indecent relationship with a married man.
They may have fooled Marina but not the voters. of San Mateo County.
Our deputies deserve a new leader. Enough is enough.
Vote Yes on A
Sad part is…Measure A will pass by a landslide, the BOS will vote her out and Corpus will refuse to leave. She’ll barricade herself in her office and file some bogus challenge with the court, some feckless judge will calendar a hearing for months down the road and Corpus will continue her nonsense as if nothing ever happened. Tons of money will then need to be committed to a “recall election,” which will take nearly two years to happen. Maybe our DA or State AG will bring forth some criminal charges, but more than likely Corpus will continue to screw over the people of San Mateo County unabated. Oh, and Victor will remain on the payroll AND reflect his “executive position” on the Sheriff’s website. It’s as if the voters of this county don’t count. Disgusting!!
Until her key fob doesn’t work and she sits at home on admin leave with Aenlle. Maybe they can color some adult stress books together or maybe they can fly to another Hawaiian island and zoom call their attorneys about their next steps to humiliate themselves.
Just go away- resign. Take Mr. Mustache with you on the way out.
Victor hasn’t been on the payroll since November and he’s not allowed in the building unless accompanied by the sheeiff and her pissing dog. Why he doesn’t move on with his life is anybody’s guess.
Oh, I bet dollars to donuts, from the shadows, he’s still advising her.
Based upon how emaciated she looked during her NBC interview, I would not be surprised if she goes out on medical leave the night of the Measure A YES landside and then begins arguing that she cannot be fired because she is out on FLMA.
The term, “bullet-proof”, is one used on occasion by elected officials to describe their personal perception of the level of their own job security due to the frequency, or infrequency, of elections. Such seems to be the thinking and perception of Corpus and her cronies. As the saying goes, appointed officials run for their job position every single day.
Except Government Code 3060, et seq, Charter Amendments, and Recalls are effective actions, each having different benefits from persuing, each take time. If Measure A passes, the process described in it must be followed, which could take 90-days or more. Other alternatives would have similar timelines. Yet they all provide more than due process for Corpus and her cronies, they provide the opportunity to place her and her remaining team on administrative leave with pay, just as with any other “accused” peace officers at SMSO.
Corpus has no union, she has nothing like McCrsy to represent her. Therefore, Corpus will bear the expenses and costs of her defense from these acts of misfeasance and malfeasance completely by herself. Perhaps more likely is that Aenlle’s wife’s family trust will bear the costs. At least until he cuts her loose, as he has previously threatened to do according to the Cordell report. When Aenlle finds himself criminally charged as well, his strong survival sense will kick in; as he so much likes to brag that he was born in a communist country and survived. Corpus should open her eyes, learn from the clarity and wisdom of McCray’s words, as well as current events seen daily. Then Corpus should abandon her defiant persona, seek contrition, and make room for the change she sought through her successor. The time remaining for Corpus to change her long string of wrong and mal-intended decisions is rapidly coming to its end. History will not be kind to the public perceptions of any legacy that she leaves behind.
Her absolute Narcissism is beyond the pale! She looked completely insane on the news! She is clearly anorexic and delusional!!!! This is NOT a leader! She has to go! Her hanging on with her fingernails is beyond pathetic! This County, This Sheriff’s Office cannot take her antics any longer! Yes on Measure A.