This story was originally printed in the Jan. 8 edition of the Daily Post. To get important local news stories first, pick up the Post in the mornings at 1,000 Mid-Peninsula locations.
BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
Embattled San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus has purchased a new conference room table for $74,000, the Daily Post has learned.
The conference table, described as “boat-shaped” by the designer, includes 12 “cooling fans” in the legs, 10 vents and 10 “lockable access doors,” according to plans for the custom table, which the Post obtained through a California Public Records Act Request.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Supervisor David Canepa said. “That’s an expensive table, and it may be the most expensive table in the history of San Matco County.”
The decision by Corpus to spend tax dollars to buy the table comes at a time when the county Board of Supervisors is planning to remove her from office because of a pattern of “lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest and abuse of authority,” as a report by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell put it. On March 5, voters will decide whether to change the County Charter to give the supervisors authority to remove her from office. A recall campaign is also in the works.
The table itself cost $59,508.54 with an installation fee of $8,380.28 and tax of $6,704.02, according to a price quote the sheriff’s office received.
Assistant County Attorney David Silberman said in an email to the Post that it is his understanding that the Sheriff’s Office has not yet been invoiced for the table, meaning the company has not sent over a request for payment. This means that the Sheriff’s Office could pay more than the initial $74.592.84 quote.
The walnut veneer table stands two and a half feet tall, 22 feet long, and 10 feet wide, according to the quote.
The Post asked the Sheriff’s Office why it needs such a table, but they were unable to respond by the Post’s deadline.
The Sheriff’s Office hired Union City-based Northwood Design Partners to design the table and Santa Clara-based contractor One Workplace to build the table, according to the documents obtained by the Post.
Northwood has designed furniture for companies such as Google, Facebook, Zoom, Salesforce and Adobe, according to its website. One Workplace has been hired for previous county projects, such as the Regional Operations Center at 501 Winslow St. in Redwood City.
Other tables with similar sizes tend to be less expensive, with a 22-foot conference table from Walmart priced at $4,691.28 and another similar-sized table on Wayfair priced at $9,499.99. However, Walmart and Wayfair tables don’t sport the cooling fans, vents and lockable doors.
Isn’t there somebody in the county government who can review her proposed purchases to make sure she’s not wasting money? I thought her budget came from the Board of Supervisors? Did they approve this? Apparently not.