This article appeared in this morning’s (7/2) Daily Post. Stay on top of local news by picking up a paper at one of our stands every morning.
BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Sheriff Christina Corpus, who told the county supervisors she didn’t know about her department’s request to buy 10 massage chairs, actually directed her employees to purchase the chairs and earmarked $100,000 for them, according to an email from her HR manager that was released on social media yesterday.
Human Resources Manager Heather Enders emailed Corpus on March 28 to request written approval to proceed with purchasing the message chairs.
“A significant amount of work has gone into procuring these, in line with your vision for staff wellness,” Enders wrote. “As you may recall, you had directed the Professional Standards Bureau to purchase these chairs, and $100K has been earmarked for this initiative, with commitments made to the bureaus.”
Supervisor Jackie Speier has been trying to get answers about the massage chairs since April 22, when she asked Undersheriff Dan Perea about them. Perea said he wasn’t involved, and Corpus wasn’t at the meeting.
Speier had her first chance to publicly ask Corpus about the chairs at a budget hearing on June 24.
“I did not see that request because I would not have approved it,” Corpus said at the meeting last week.
The email from Enders to Corpus was posted anonymously on social media yesterday.
The purchase was declined by Procurement Director Jas Sandhar, Speier said.
Corpus ended up purchasing two chairs. Each one cost $6,670 for a total of $13,340, spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker said in April.
Corpus, who rarely allows herself to be questioned in public, has previously drawn attention for her spending of tax funds.
Other big expenses
In March, the Post reported that she purchased two soft-serve ice cream machines for employees in the county jails.
In January, the Post reported that she had purchased a $74,000 conference room table. The 22-foot by 10-foot table includes 12 “cooling fans” in the legs and 10 “lockable access doors.” At the time, Supervisor David Canepa said it may be the most expensive table in the history of San Mateo County.
Corpus also signed a $35,687 monthly lease in August 2023 to convert a building at 690 Broadway in Redwood City into a daycare and substation. But the plans were halted a year later, and the building remains vacant, though the county continues to pay the rent.
It isn’t completely vacant. It serves as a place for rendezvous with her and Victor.
All her blatant lies are catching up to her!!!!!! All she does is LIE!!!!! Finally…the people can see it with their own eyes!!!! Enough is enough!!!!! She has ZERO CREDIBILITY!!!!!!
Just like Devon Conley of the Mountain View Whisman School District, who now claims she had no idea that Superintendent Ayinde Rudolph was spending district money on first-class flights and hotel rooms costing $2,000 a night. Some hotel expenses in Mountain View alone ran up bills of $20,000 to $30,000 — and to this day, the public still doesn’t know what exactly was happening at those local hotels to justify such outrageous costs. Meanwhile, charges at San Francisco hotels appeared on his district credit card for the same dates.
Devon Conley also claims she knew nothing about the $300,000 spent on an “energy healer,” despite parents showing up to board meetings repeatedly asking questions about it. Other board members now say they objected to these expenses at every meeting, yet somehow Conley had no idea.
At the same time, she kept enriching Ayinde Rudolph — handing him massive raises, a housing loan, an extra $100,000, and even a severance agreement guaranteeing no legal action would be taken against him.
These kinds of officials are all cut from the same cloth: reckless with taxpayer money, dismissive of peoples’ concerns, and shameless when it comes to protecting each other while draining public funds.