BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
One of the leaders of the recall of embattled San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said yesterday he is waiting to see how the county’s four to six-month process to remove her goes before working on his campaign.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to a set of procedures that will determine whether Corpus ought to be removed under Measure A, which 84% of voters approved in March. Measure A changes the county charter to give the supervisors authority to fire the sheriff.
A leader of the recall, former Caltrain CEO Jim Hartnett, told the Post on Wednesday that he is waiting to see how the county’s process plays out, saying the supervisors appear to be acting responsibly to fulfill Measure A.
Hartnett, a former mayor of Redwood City, filed paperwork in November with former state Sen. Jerry Hill to begin fundraising for a recall of Corpus, whose term ends in 2028.
At the time, it was estimated that the recall would land on the November 2025 ballot.
On March 4, over 90,000 voters approved Measure A, which gives the supervisors the power to remove Corpus, who has been accused of retaliation, nepotism, making racist and homophobic comments, conflicts of interest, and running the jails with an unusual number of deaths.
Corpus’ next move
Corpus’ attorney is threatening to go to court to challenge the county’s termination process, which could delay the firing by months if not longer.
During Tuesday’s board meeting, Corpus’ attorney, Thomas Mazzucco, said the county’s process is unfair to his client. He said the board cannot act as her accuser, prosecutor, judge, jury, and appellate body.
Mazzucco said supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller have made it clear on how they will vote and should not take part in the vote to remove Corpus.
“You are recused. You can’t make this vote, and we will bring this to the courts,” Mazzucco said during the meeting.
Mariah Cooks, who works for the firm Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney with Mazzucco, told the Post on Wednesday that they may file a lawsuit to challenge the county’s procedure.
“It is an option, but our firm has not taken action, but it is something we are considering,” Cooks said to the Post.
Cooks said that Corpus’s legal team has been demanding to know what the charges against her are.
“Over the past month or couple of months, we’ve been trying to seek any documents or reasons, what the charges are actually going to be. But we have not received any information as relates to what the allegations are of the charges at this point,” Cooks said to the Post.
Corpus’ attorneys said in a letter to County Attorney John Nibbelin that they want a copy of all the evidence against her including retired Santa Clara County Judge LaDoris Cordell’s notes of interviews with witnesses, her interview schedule, emails between Cordell and the county attorney’s office and Cordell’s engagement letter and scope.
“Our position is that the Cordell report should not be relied upon at all, as it is fatally flawed. That is something we are assessing,” Cooks said to the Post.
Cordell interviewed 40 past and current sheriff’s employees, many of whom filed HR complaints against Aenlle and Corpus. Cordell didn’t identify the witnesses by name in her report, possibly to protect them from retaliation from the sheriff.
It may be difficult for Corpus’ lawyers to get information from Cordell about her investigation since it appears she was in an attorney-client relationship with the county, and therefore her notes and other materials would be off-limits to Corpus.
Corpus has sued the county to obtain a copy of Cordell’s contract to work as an independent investigator.
The Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants said in a statement that the board’s approval of the process marks another step in attempting to bring Corpus into accountability for ordering the arrest of Deputy Carlos Tapia, the president of the deputies’ union, for time cards fraud — a charge the DA later threw out.
“Every step moves us closer to the day when new leadership can re-establish the guardrails of trust and transparency that Sheriff Corpus destroyed in her own thirst for power,” said the unions’ statement.
David Canepa is saying this process will drag on until 2026. Her lawsuits will lengthen this thing until her term expires. Meanwhile, imagine how many lives she will ruin between now and when she leaves. Nobody who voted for Measure A expected this would last until January 2026. The supervisors are almost as bad as the sheriff when it comes to running things.
It’s not as easy like scorned women Noelia Corzo said in April! Seems that 3 months is turning into a 7-8 months.
Noelia Corzo thinks she is an attorney and she can means things. When in reality she is none of the of the above. Why does she keep asking if it goes to hearing is it going to be public or private??
She has made it clear that it should be private! I think strongly it should be Public!!!!
That’s absolutely not true. The hearings are public by nature, and it is up to Corpus to request a private hearing. Here is Corzo’s exact quote: “I want the public to understand that these removal procedures, if adopted, any testimony will be under oath, and if it’s not public, it’s not for the lack of will of this board,”
Corzo and Mueller totally messed this up. They wanted to play to the cameras and overlooked the law. And Mueller is an attorney. Guessing his mommy and daddy bought his law degree. What a joke. They both need to go.
Easy there Victor. Speaking of jokes…
Let me make this clear, if you bring a complaint to HR you have a right to have those complaints looked into. Whistleblower retaliation os when people retaliate for complaining hense Aenlle and Corpus filing claims against people saying they need to Be under oath and revealed is openly retaliation. ALL of those complaints were ignored.
These supervisors are idiots. They supported Corpus until it wasn’t fashionable to support her. Then when they have to vote to fire her, they’ll chicken out at the urging of Jackie S. Nothing will happen. Identity politics will save the first Latina sheriff. Progressives and Wokesters will rejoice!
Give them time . Noone said this process was going to be easy . The BOS has been fielding HR complaints, excessive spending reports of retaliation for MONTHS. They had to act and measure. It was the only option aside from waiting for a recall . Should they have just done nothing? They likely thought. The Sheriff had integrity and would step down and save the tax payers but he underestimated how sick and corrupt she is . Sheriff Corpus is to blame in good easily put it into all of this .
The Poodle, aka: JS, needs to get off the stage.
That’s absolutely not true. The hearings are public by nature. Corzo’s exact quote is: “I want the public to understand that these removal procedures, if adopted, any testimony will be under oath, and if it’s not public, it’s not for the lack of will of this board,”
If that’s an accurate quote, I think it means the hearings will be secret and the board has come up with an excuse to keep them secret — while pretending they fought for them to be open. Just gaslighting. Hope Corzo and Mueller have opponents when they run for reelection next year. They need real jobs, not government BS.
This article, and the associated decision concerning delays in pursuing a recall, is only disappointing if the decision delays the earliest date that a recall election could be conducted to a latter election cycle. The frustrations and disparaging comments by readers only serves to confirm the continued damage that the existence of the corrupt Corpus administration of cronies have caused and is inflicting on a significant number of individuals.
The supervisors knew, or should have known, that Corpus and Aenlle would be suing them. She’s been threatening to do so since the beginning. Sometimes in life, you have to go forward and do what is right despite the obstacles. It’s time for the supervisors to grow a pair, or five pairs, and get rid of her. To chicken out now is a slap in the face to the voters who are depending on you to do your jobs.