After a tumultuous week for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, state legislators and congressional leaders from the area have added their voices to the growing calls for embattled Sheriff Christina Corpus to resign, issuing a joint statement Monday afternoon.
The statement – signed by Congressman Kevin Mullin (15th District), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (16th District), state Senator Josh Becker (13th District), and Assemblymembers Marc Berman (23rd District) and Diane Papan (21st District) – comes amid accusations of an inappropriate relationship with Corpus’ chief of staff, retaliation against officers and employees, and allegations of racist and homophobic slurs in the workplace.
“As elected leaders in San Mateo County, we are collectively calling for the resignation of Christina Corpus as Sheriff of San Mateo County,” the statement reads. “The turmoil engulfing the Sheriff’s Office continues to damage the organization and its members, jeopardize public safety, and expose local taxpayers to avoidable liabilities.”
The leaders stated, “Public safety is in the hands of the Sheriff and the staff who operate the County jail and provide law enforcement for numerous cities, as well as the Court. Our community deserves trustworthy, ethical, and collaborative leaders — especially from those who are sworn to protect us and uphold the law.”
Last week, retired judge LaDoris Cordell, a well-known independent police auditor, released a scathing 400-page report detailing several findings of misconduct involving Corpus and her chief of staff, Victor Aenlle.
“Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflict of interest, and abuses of authority are the hallmarks of the Corpus administration,” Cordell wrote.
The report was released only minutes after Corpus announced the arrest of San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association President Carlos Tapia for alleged “time card fraud.”
In two separate resolutions, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors called for Corpus’ resignation last week and expressed “no confidence” in her leadership. The board eliminated the Sheriff’s Executive Director of Administration role, a position held by Aenlle, only for Corpus to promote him to assistant sheriff.
County Executive Mike Callagy added that Aenlle’s access to all county buildings that are closed to the general public would be revoked.
Corpus has refused to resign, calling the inquiry “one-sided and filled with lies.”
“What has happened here over the past two days is disgusting. The inquiry was politically motivated, one-sided, and filled with lies,” she said last week.
Corpus also has refuted all claims made in Cordell’s report, calling it defamatory and politically motivated, and vowing to fight what she described as a corrupt “good old boys” network in the county.
“I am disappointed, but not surprised that more elected officials have decided to pile on me and my office,” Corpus said in a statement to this news organization. “To the people of San Mateo County, I want to make it clear: I am not going anywhere. You elected me to be your Sheriff, and I intend to continue the hard work of reforming this office and keeping this community safe.”
The statement by area lawmakers, issued three days after Assistant Sheriff Matthew Fox’s resignation, describes Corpus’s administration — currently in conflict with the Sheriff’s union — as an “agency in crisis.”
“This damning report, coupled with the dismissals and resignations of the entire command staff of the Sheriff’s Office, shows this is an agency in crisis,” the statement read. “Our county can no longer afford the chaos and failed leadership under Christina Corpus. Our communities deserve better.”