BY DAVE PRICE
Daily Post Editor
Guess which local elected official said this:
“Transparency is essential to building trust with our community.”
Any guesses?
This official then says: “By building an honest relationship with the residents of San Mateo County, we can increase trust in law enforcement.” Those are words of San Mateo County’s new sheriff, Christina Corpus, as stated on her campaign website.
But for the past several weeks, she has stonewalled the Daily Post as we have attempted to get her to answer this question: Why did she pick somebody with minimal experience in law enforcement, such as Realtor Victor Aenlle, to be part of her command staff?
Her inner circle should be made up of experienced officers with years of experience along with academic training in law enforcement. They should have faced down criminals with guns. They should have been able to successfully resolve life-and-death situations.
The other three men she’s chosen for her command team have such credentials. They are former Mountain View Police Chief Chris Hsiung, former Tiberon chief and longtime San Mateo lieutenant Ryan Monaghan and retired sheriff’s Capt. Paul Kunkel.
Nobody is questioning whether they’re up for the job. But Aenlle?
The few public records San Mateo County has released to the Post indicate that Aenlle’s relevant experience was that of a deputy sheriff – an entry-level job – and his compensation indicates he was only a part-timer.
However, he was part of the Mounted Patrol in Woodside, volunteers who ride horses and give the tony village a Wild West look.
And, with 27 years of experience in real estate, he can help you find your next home.
Our reporter tried to interview both Aenlle and Corpus but got nowhere. So it’s time that the Board of Supervisors (Ray Mueller, Warren Slocum, Dave Pine, David Canepa and Noelia Corzo) bring Corpus in for a few questions, such as:
1. Why did you pick Aenlle?
2. Did you advertise the job he holds? If so, how many applicants did you get?
3. Would it be accurate to describe his title as “chief of staff”?
4. Is Aenlle a “sworn officer,” which would bring on special responsibilities under state law that are not required of a civilian? Does he carry a gun and a badge? Can he arrest people?
5. Is Aenlle allowed to give orders to sheriff’s office employees? Orders to people who previously outranked him and had more experience?
6. If a hostage situation occurs, will Aenlle be in charge since he’s part of your command team?
What about a kidnapping? Active school shooters? A jetliner crash?
I’m sure that San Mateo County Manager Mike Callegy, who came up through the ranks in the San Mateo Police Department, could come up with some better questions for Corpus.
And if Corpus doesn’t want to answer those questions, the Board of Supervisors withhold funding for the sheriff’s office.
Palo Alto residents are reeling from the extraordinarily high utility bills they got for the month of January, especially for natural gas. In January, Palo Altans paid $4.87 per therm of natural gas, compared to $2.68 per therm for PG&E.
What can we do about it?
A long time ago, the city had an auditor who would look into things like this. Sometimes, when the auditor delved into too touchy a subject, he or she would get fired (recall the forced resignation of Bill Vinson in 2000). Generally, though, the audits were independent of the influence of council or the city manager. Now the city outsources the audit function to a national accounting firm, which gets its instructions from council. It’s time to bring in the auditor and look at the utility rates Palo Altans are forced to pay, just to make sure we’re getting the best deal possible.
Dave Price’s column appears on Mondays.