San Mateo County Board Asks Voters for Authority to Remove Sheriff Christina Corpus

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to place a measure on the ballot asking voters to grant them the authority to remove embattled Sheriff Christina Corpus.

The move to advance the charter amendment means Corpus could face a political two-punch combo, as a recall campaign is also in its early stages.

Following a near monthlong barrage of demands for Corpus to resign, the board’s vote calls for a special election in March, when voters will decide whether to give the five-member body the authority to remove the sheriff by a four-fifths vote “after written notice and an opportunity to be heard.” That authority would expire at the end of 2028 when Corpus’ first term ends.

“Does this charter amendment being placed on the ballot take away the power from the voters? I want to be very clear, no, it does not,” said Supervisor Noelia Corzo, among the sheriff’s most vocal detractors. “This is going to be in front of the voters. The voters will inform themselves, and they will make educated votes.”

Several people — including two attorneys representing Corpus — used the public comment section of Tuesday’s meeting to oppose the charter amendment, saying the process was moving too fast. Others said they didn’t want the will of the voters who elected Corpus in 2022 to be subjugated and threatened legal action.

The board also passed a formal request for Corpus to come to its Dec. 10 meeting to testify and answer questions under oath.

Corzo abstained from that vote.

“I’m extremely concerned that even under oath, our sheriff will use this as a platform to continue to lie,” Corzo said.

The board, last month, voted unanimously for Corpus to resign shortly after the release of a 408-page official investigation of Corpus’ executive team, detailing a litany of transgressions.

“Fear of retaliation is rampant in the organization,” the report said. “Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority are the hallmarks of the Corpus administration.”

Since then, there have been a number of high-ranking officers in the department who have resigned, including an acting assistant sheriff and a captain who allegedly refused to arrest the president of the sheriff’s deputies union.

The board last month also voted to defund the department’s non-sworn executive director position held by Victor Aenlle — the sheriff’s alleged lover — but Corpus preemptively promoted him to assistant sheriff, a position that county officials say he isn’t legally allowed to hold.

In a letter dated Nov. 26, Corpus again said she would not be resigning and chided the board for “pursuing amendments that erode democratic accountability.”

“This moment challenges not only my leadership but the independence and integrity of this Office. I will not step down, nor will I allow this institution to be politicized or influenced by special interests,” Corpus wrote but did not specify what special interests she was referring to.

Corpus has served as sheriff since 2023, becoming the first woman and first Latina to hold the office after defeating the incumbent.

San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association (DSA) and Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants (OSS) issued a joint statement the next day, calling Corpus’ refusal to resign “not an act of defiance but a glaring display of contempt for the overwhelming consensus of those who see the damage caused under your administration.”

“We will no longer work with you. That ship has sailed,” the statement said. “All you are doing is playing the role of victim within a disaster of your own making. Quit.”

The DSA, this week, filed an unfair labor charge with the State Public Employment Relations Board alleging that Aenlle retaliated against its members by threatening to sue them after they held a vote of no confidence against him in September.

Also gathering momentum is the separate push to recall Corpus, an effort being led by Caltrain CEO and former Redwood City Mayor Jim Hartnett.

The recall campaign must gather signatures from 10% of registered county voters — about 46,000 people. County Attorney John D. Nibbelin said that process would likely put the recall on the ballot in April 2026 — as opposed to a special election next March to grant the board authority to remove Corpus.

A growing number of federal and state representatives from the region have called for Corpus to resign, including two who endorsed her during her 2022 campaign — as have five remaining captains in her office.

And most recently, the San Carlos City Council, whose city has contracted with the county for police services since 2010, unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Corpus on Nov. 25 and asked for her immediate resignation.

Citing Cordell’s findings of corruption, financial abuse and “retaliatory and illegal labor practices,” San Carlos City Manager Jeff Maltbie told the Council that “it’s time we add our voice” to the ongoing calls from inside the sheriff’s office for Corpus to resign.

“This is a problem that we will not solve from this dais,” he said. “It is a problem that we will solve when we come together as a county.”