San Mateo County Board of Supervisors demand resignation of sheriff

The board also abolished the chief of staff position that Victor Aenlle held — up until the public comment portion of the special meeting when Corpus made a surprise visit and announced a proactive decision to promote Aenlle to an assistant sheriff, making the board’s move questionably obsolete.

“I will not allow the board to threaten me in an attempt to fire my chief of staff without cause,” Corpus said. “Effective immediately, I am appointing Dr. Victor Aenlle to the position of assistant sheriff. I am the sheriff of this county. I answer to the people of San Mateo County who elected me, I will not be bullied.”

The resolution was to zero out the approved budget for the role that Aenlle served in, essentially removing him as a county employee. Though the move appeared to subvert the county’s limited authority of Aenlle’s employment, questions still remain over Aenlle’s qualifications to be assistant sheriff.

Aenlle is not a full-time sworn law enforcement officer, and even his designation as a reserve deputy is in question, according to the Cordell report.

“I think that is just another example that we’re seeing, in action, live, right before us, of the skirting of policy, of protocol, of legality,” Supervisor Noelia Corzo said.

The Board of Supervisors retained Cordell in July 2024 following an “unprecedented” amount of complaints regarding Aenlle and Corpus, including allegations the two were in a personal relationship, which the Cordell report unequivocally confirmed but Corpus denied.

Supervisor Ray Mueller asked Corpus if she would agree to provide sworn testimony with Cordell, to which she said as she exited the room she is waiting for legal representation.

“So far, every statement the sheriff has given on this issue has not been under oath, she is not held to that level of scrutiny, and if she lies she cannot be held to a perjury scrutiny,” Mueller said. “It’s very important we move on to this next phase.”

The meeting Wednesday served as a turning point, Mueller said, from what could have formally been a cooperative investigation to one that is now compulsory.

County staff will now begin preparing an ordinance for a charter amendment to be considered by voters, which could grant the board the ability to remove the sheriff upon specific findings.

This ordinance would include guardrails with specific circumstances under which the board could act in this manner, including specifying that criminality must be found, or evidence that Corpus is not doing her job or there is unethical conduct.

A charter amendment of this sort can be presented to voters for consideration through an ordinance by the board, or a recall effort by voters. Either way, the voters would decide if Corpus should leave office, Mueller said.

“If the citizens of San Mateo County want to go ahead and organize a recall effort if they feel so compelled, I support them in that effort,” Mueller said. “But I have an obligation as a supervisor on this Board of Supervisors, in the current circumstance, to pursue a charter amendment.”

The county would need to set this effort in motion quickly to have it considered in March 2025, due to the requirement of two public readings of the ordinance before it can be considered for the ballot. The next election wouldn’t be until November 2025.

Other actions set in motion approved by the board start the likely long process of actually removing Corpus, should she not resign herself.

“Many of you may want the sheriff to leave tomorrow,” Supervisor David Canepa said. “I want you to understand, it’s a little bit of a longer process.”

The report will be provided to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe to look at whether there was criminal conduct that warrants further analysis, investigation and prosecution. It will also be provided to Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is in a supervisory role over all sheriffs statewide, allowing Bonta to come in and conduct an investigation and exercise those powers.

The civil grand jury will also be given the report to investigate. A civil grand jury has the ability to issue an accusation with respect to the removal of officers in cases of high-level misconduct. An accusation, which acts as a sort of indictment, goes to the district attorney and then ultimately to the Superior Court and results in a trial similar in process to a criminal trial.

Reflecting on previous support, Corpus legacy

As someone who practically campaigned alongside Corpus, Corzo said she still cares about her as a person, a mother and as a fellow Latina. The supervisor affirmed “there is no vendetta against [Corpus], there is only the pursuit of truth and justice.”

However, Corzo said the sheriff’s deflection efforts and repeating claims of being a victim of bullying and targeting because she is a woman are harmful considering the reports of women facing retaliation and mistreatment “that she cosigns” by keeping Aenlle on staff.

“I know that women and people of color especially in leadership many times do face obstacles and barriers,” Corzo said. “But when people cry wolf, they do a disservice to all of the people that actually are experiencing discrimination.”

Corzo has shared her concern for Corpus’ well-being, and questions if Aenlle has too much control over the situation, but said the bottom line is that the position of sheriff is too powerful and holds too much weight for her to not be held accountable.

The morning the report was presented Nov. 12, Carlos Tapia, the president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, was arrested for felony grand theft by false pretenses. Tapia has been a key figure in the effort to expose the Corpus administration’s flaws, and for leading the charge in a labor dispute alleging unilateral decision making relating to overtime and staffing without union conference.

“It is not logical to do the things that the sheriff has done,” Corzo said. “To a certain extent, I do fear for her safety, emotional, physical, etcetera, but I can’t say more than that because I don’t have hard facts, but I am deeply concerned for her well-being.”

Board President Warren Slocum said the Sheriff’s Office is riddled with “Trumpian tactics of lies, false information and deflection and delay.”

“I recognize that the sheriff is an elected position, I recognize that she’s the first Latina sheriff in our county, and I recognize obviously that she is a woman,” Slocum said. “Nevertheless, in my 40 years in county government, I have never witnessed such chaos, and that chaos has been caused by the sheriff and Mr. Aenlle.”

The special meeting allowed for public comment, which was primarily filled with members of Fixin’ San Mateo and the Coalition for a Safer San Mateo County who said this scandal proves the need for a dedicated inspector general and strong oversight of the Sheriff’s Office, for which they have long advocated.

Concerns of lawmakers

Legislators representing San Mateo County also expressed serious concern around the results of the investigation.

Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, said in a statement that the findings “cast a shadow over the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.”

“Trust in law enforcement is paramount and the public deserves a detailed response from Sheriff Corpus about the report’s findings,” he said. “I am continuing to closely follow this matter and fully support the Board of Supervisors’ ongoing efforts to ensure transparency and accountability for the people of San Mateo County.”

Both Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, and state Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, said in statements issued before the Board of Supervisors meeting that they were “disturbed” by the results of Cordell’s report.

“I have considerable concerns about the sheriff’s ability to fulfill her obligations to the residents of San Mateo County,” Becker said in his statement. “I stand with the Board of Supervisors as they work through these issues with the sheriff.”

Berman said he would support whatever action the Board of Supervisors took as it related to Corpus.

“The actions of Sheriff Corpus and her closest aides have gravely undermined public trust in the professionalism and fairness of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office,” his statement read. “I support the Board of Supervisors as they determine what the appropriate next steps are to restore that trust, up to and including Sheriff Corpus’ resignation.”

Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, also issued a statement before the meeting that expressed apprehension around Corpus’s decision not to participate in the investigation. Papan hopes issues within the Sheriff’s Office can be resolved in coming weeks, she said.

“I am dismayed that the sheriff did not avail herself of the opportunity to speak with the third-party, highly credentialed investigator in the spirit of full transparency. The Sheriff is the top law enforcement officer in our county and should have fully participated in this independent investigation of her own office,” her statement read.

Holly Rusch contributed to this report.