The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors have a couple of choices when they decide tomorrow (Oct. 14) how to replace Sheriff Christina Corpus.
One, they could decide among themselves who should be sheriff.
Two, they may hold an election to pick her replacement.
The process of removing Corpus for hiring her alleged boyfriend and harassing her employees has been chaotic enough. While an overwhelming number of residents voted to support a ballot measure that gives the supervisors the power to fire Corpus, there has been discontent about the process the supervisors are using to remove her. Many think that a recall measure would have been a more transparent process, allowing the sheriff to make her case to the public, not the Board of Supervisors.
Corpus has been secretive since taking office in 2022, stonewalling the press and avoiding public appearances. The Board of Supervisors isn’t much better, allowing their county counsel to continuously keep public record requests secret. How much has the removal process cost the taxpayers? They won’t say. Even when the county loses in court, as they did in a case involving the cost of the removal, the cost remains a big secret. Secrecy is an indication something is wrong in government.
If the supervisors appoint a replacement, you can bet that a backroom deal will be cut to give the job to a political favorite of one of the supervisors. We don’t want a sheriff who allowed red-light cameras to ticket thousands of drivers who stopped in time or hired an officer with a history of sex assaults.
An election is the right way to fill an elective office. Let the people decide. It is their government, after all.
Tomorrow (Oct. 14), the supervisors need to show people that the corruption has stopped. They should have an open process for picking a replacement for Corpus, one where the voters choose.
While some people may be concerned about our electoral process overall, it is the best process we have in our society today. I agree with Mr. Price and the Post. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors should call for a special election, if the position of Sheriff becomes vacant. Hopefully some stabilization efforts can be undertaken in the Sheriff’s Office during the 102 to 131 days until that special election.
Put in place an interim Sheriff and then election at the right time.
No more waste of taxpayer money. There some GREAT candidates to rebuild the office and morale. Get rid of Perea and start with a strong interim immediately. The healing needs to start yesterday!
Voters should definitely pick the next sheriff, but elections take time. If Corpus is removed, the BOS should immediately select an interim “agency head” to lead the department, but it should be made clear it is for a limited period of time and the selected candidate should not run during the coming election. Additionally, upon Corpus’ removal, her leadership cadre (Perea and Enriquez), and of course Victor A. need to go immediately as well. The healing process cannot begin until they have all been relieved of duty. Lastly, when “Sleepy Steve” finally gets into the game, maybe we’ll see some criminal indictments begin to unfold. What a mess!!
What happens in the meantime before a special election or a so called open process? Life goes on in the Sheriff department regardless if Corpus and/or the executive team has their desks full or empty.
1. appoint an unqualified interim from the Sheriff Department to be an “acting” Sheriff requires yet another person promoting to a position they would be inexperienced and unqualified for.
2. Naming someone that is with another department or outside the sheriff office is risky to have someone come in that the personal do not know what it’s like to work with them. People change as we have seen when they come into roles with authority and power.
3. Maybe confer with the Unions and Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains on a list of their top picks for who they trust and who they know will be qualified. The public can pick in a general elections, but there is a fine line to who is just placed into a position based on little experience working as a peace officer.
4. Have a board meeting with candidates speak to the public. Just saying someone is a county favorite because they worked together is better than selecting yet another person that has a hidden past of traveling with Aenlle.
Any way you cut the pie, someone will find something wrong with this scenario. This is an extreme case of an ENTIRE executive team that is corrupt, a Sheriff that has multiple investigations, a grand jury and a 10 day trial all saying she is guilty of multiple violations. This department needs structure as soon as possible and someone that isn’t going to stir the pot even more.
If there Sheriff retires and the executive team goes with her- then what? Again, a Captain may be ok but that’s not ideal to just promote into a position without experience in a Executive leadership position.
The choice is pretty crystal clear for an interim if you weigh the consequences of lacking experience, someone on the outside, someone with skeletons and someone that the county and the people know and trust and is qualified. Fingers crossed this process isn’t knee jerk to the wrong someone.
Appoint an interim to finish out the term. There can be a public hearing to pick who’s best. We’ve wasted enough money on Christy and the Doctor.
Following tomorrow’s exorcism, two steps are necessary to turn away from the Corpus era: One, as quickly as possible, seat a competent, seasoned replacement Sheriff. Two, stop reacting to Team Corpus’s absurd conspiracy theories while wasting time and money. The problem with your suggestion is that it sabotages both objectives.
This narrative about backroom deals and political favors is overblown, and like the Corpus claim about the County Executive and Supervisors seeking “power”, is, to quote the bowdlerized version of VP John Nance Garner’s assessment of the Vice-Presidency, “not worth a bucket of warm spit”. Let’s be real: The Sheriff seat isn’t a political trinket but rather a serious job and lingering headache, and the county principals don’t seek to use it for patronage; they just want it to cease being the sole department out of thirty that’s a continual embarrassment needing baby-sitting.
The Daily Post rightfully pursues transparency using the Public Records Act, but I think may be losing perspective: In any serious legal confrontation, it’s standerd tactics to deny the opposition visibility into your internal affairs to the extent possible. Moreover, as the Post itself told us, Corpus’s entire legal strategy rests on her ability to litigate nearly cost-free in a multitude of cases all with far-fetched causes of action, passing all legal bills (except, reportedly those for outside counsel Tom Perez) directly to the taxpayer. It follows that giving her the minimum material to work with in court is not just good tactics, but also saves money.
The county didn’t “lose” in the Cordell disclosures case. Having been ordered by Judge Finigan to give Corpus’s lawyers Cordell’s contract, time sheets, and invoices, it kicked the issue over to Court of Appeal just long enough to defer that matter until after the Oct. 14th firing. Not secrecy, just tactics, near as I can tell.
The Supervisors avoiding another huge waste of time and money by directly appointing former Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan or one of a couple of other greatly qualified candidates wouldn’t be “corruption”. It would be responsible stewardship, what we elect them to do, and what the County Charter gives them a mandate to do.
Sanity starts with ejecting the present office-holder, and then quickly and efficiently placing the best candidate in office, while telling the “power-play” conspiracy people to get stuffed. So, let’s do that, and skip the circus. There’s work to do.
A normal Sheriff’s election would have a primary followed by a general election. Is there any way to make that happen in 2026?
If there’s just one special election, there could be nine candidates with the winner getting 25% of the vote and then he or she will be in office for almost three years.
Agree with you Doctor. There are several qualified Sheriff level candidates out there, widen the net to include most Bay Area LE agencies. I also agree with you that some of her “Command” staff need to leave, esp Perea. That being said, it’s not a popularity contest, you want a pragmatic, morally incorruptable and ethically honest person who demonstrates *Leadership*. I do not want a 6-9 month beauty contest to end up with another loser. Board of Supvs, are you listening ?
…there are sheriff voting rules, Dave what do you suggest the supervisors do in the meantime until March or longer with no sheriff?
The entire executive team could be empty, leaving the door open for a number of decisions and situations to handle…before the voters could elect a new sheriff. Without a leader that has executive team experience it could steer the department into an even more vulnerable situation. If only it were that easy to just fire a sheriff and the next week have a general election for a new one, but it doesn’t work that way!
Retire ,resign do the right thing for once, Corpus! On top of that when you get fired there is paperwork that needs to be signed to keep yoir benefits – something that the Sheriff herself didn’t offer other people when she fired them or just moved them around into miserable positions. Did the Sheriff think of other peoples families and their medical benefits for their children ? I think not.
Let’s make sure we choose someone with genuine experience and the best interests of the hardworking employees who show up every day. As much as I respect everyone’s service, someone whose background is limited to experience at the range — without any supervisory experience may not have the knowledge or leadership skills needed to run a sheriff’s office effective. Lt Sebring knows the struggle and is in touch with the deputies.
I’m a software engineer, but I play a lawyer on TV. I can’t wait to get into Judge Judy’s courtroom to litigate this case. I don’t need a law degree or any experience, I get all my information from the Internet. And the Internet is always right! (To supplement my vast experience, I catch up on the law by watching Perry Mason reruns.)
I have to agree with the former K9 guy. We need to quit wasting money on these special elections. The previous one to give the supervisors approval to remove the sheriff was necessary, having another one is not. I trust the supervisors to replace her and to place the next Sheriff election on the next regularly scheduled ballot, November of next year. Let’s try to practice a little fiscal responsibility, something are now former Sheriff didn’t understand at all.
The next general election is November 2027 for a January 2028 start date…
Who wants to campaign for a 2 year term from now to the end of 2027? That is A LOT of effort for someone to be around for 2 years and leaves the Sheriff office in a lot of transitions of different command teams.
I agree with the above post— range master does not have the leadership experience and county political relationships that the Sheriff office needs. Corpus promoted up feom Captain in Millbrae to Sheriff look how that tiny vision went south quickly . Too many similarities and visions of self bvs visions and experience needed to help an entire agency and the entire county.
Another concern is someone in a small small outside agency. All of the foreign trips to womanize will definitely be brought to the public view.
Lastly, the other option that used to vacation with Aenlle. Just stop. No! Hard no! Been at the SO don’t come back-move on.
There really is only one logical choice and it’s not someone lacking EXECUTIVE TEAM experience. Again, people fain power and change you don’t know what you don’t know.
Clark and Lewis come back- steer the ship right.
You are right about the outsider from the small agency. No SO experience and very questionable background. And the sergeant who wants to take over? Multiple IAs for lying and cost the county four and a half million dollars in the wrongful death lawsuit in Millbrae, along with multiple affairs with young female deputies.
We just got rid of a sheriff we could not trust. We don’t need either one of these guys. Better choices out there.
Correction: One IA, Menlo Park Resident, not multiple. And, unlike some of the other guys, the sergeant never had any affairs. He’s been married for, like, forever.
Noone that is a SERGEANT retired or active should be running for Sheriff. We just had Corpus who was a Captain skip rank and that was a disaster. Leadership roles are public figures that need training, time and experience. A Sergeant manages a few people and is a completely different job and different set of skills. This is crazy that people are throwing their name in for a campaign that HAS NOT even been approved or announced! That shows INEXPERIENCE and lack of KNOWING what is best for the county. These people are in it for themselves with the same scenario as Corpus- who rode the batmobile bandwagon to the end… these people have a similar mindset.
Leaders have support of political figures and beyond in the County. Noone with 1/2 of a brain is endorsing inexperienced individuals.
Also, the Board may save $4-5 million on a special election and appoint someone through 2028. Campaigning and running office for a 2 year term will cost the same for someone that is running for a 4 year term and will be super weird to have the dynamics of the WRONG people in the Sheriff office again.
Goodbye to Corpus. But God help us all get the right person to lead the Sheriff office and not some hot headed Sergeants.
Corpus was elected to a six-year term. This happened because the Legislature acted in 2022 (AB759) to realign future Sheriff and DA elections with presidential primaries, instead of midterm elections as in times past — adding two years to the terms of all June 7, 2022 winners.
So, the next regularly scheduled election for California’s sheriffs is March 7, 2028 — by state law, which the Supervisors have no power to change.
the next general election is November 2028 (aligned with the presidential election) for a January 2029 start date… Corpus started her 6 year term January 2023
Alicia E.: I just double-checked 2022’s Assembly Bill No. 759:
“A district attorney or sheriff elected in 2022 shall serve a six-year term and the next election for that office shall occur at the 2028 presidential primary.”
You are correct that the next presidential _general_ election will be Nov. 2027, but the next presidential primary in California will be on Super Tuesday in March 2027. And thus, the next regularly elections for sheriffs (and DAs) will be then. As I said.
Darn it, I of course meant March and November 2028 for the pair of presidential elections in California, not 2027.
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Well well well- look at the sergeants trying to play ball in the Sheriff election. And now we have up to bat, former Sheriff Bolanos thinking his following is still there.
The sad thing about having an election for replacing corpus through end of 2028 is … a few candidates have $150,000 or $500,000 stashed away in campaign funds. So, what you have here is multiple candidates playing a dangerous game in San Mateo county. A June election sets us up for a candidate “winning” an election with 5,000 or 15,000 votes or perhaps winning with 10-12% of the votes. And God help us all if Bolanos gets back in with his former regime and stir the pot even more by using his campaign stash and getting 10-15% of the votes leaving 85-90% of the votes not in favor of this win.
So what to do. The candidates that have thrown their name out there are really really scary options! I am leaning towards appointing to avpid this conundrum of issues unfolding.