Sheriff Christina Corpus has initiated a process to sue San Mateo County, seeking $10 million over claims of discrimination, harassment and defamation in relation to the investigation into and subsequent public address of concerns raised about the Sheriff’s Office.
The Board of Supervisors hired former Judge LaDoris Cordell in July 2024 to investigate Corpus’ administration after receiving an “unprecedented” amount of complaints, resulting in a 400-page report detailing accounts of a culture of intimidation, conflicts of interest and corruption. The report was made public Nov. 12.
Corpus’ lawyer — who she hired independently — said the entire ordeal is a conspired campaign against the sheriff.
“This is a case about a County discriminating against, harassing and defaming a dedicated public servant because the defendants do not want either a woman or a Latin X person as the head of their Sheriff’s Department,” the claim reads.
In 2022, Corpus was elected sheriff, beating incumbent Carlos Bolanos “because the public wanted to improve accountability and transparency in the Sheriff’s Department,” the claim reads. She was the first woman and Latino sheriff in the county and is one of the first Latina sheriffs in the state.
The claim filed against the county particularly calls out Supervisor Noelia Corzo — but misspells her name — for participating in an “evil scheme” that has defamed Corpus. The claim also misspells Cordell’s name once and refers to Corpus’ first name as “Christy.”
County Attorney John Nibbelin said the claim holds no merit.
“If a lawsuit is filed in the future, the County will address the baseless allegations in court,” Nibbelin wrote in a statement.
As Corpus’ former chief of staff, Victor Aenlle is central to the chaos encapsulated in the investigation conducted by Cordell. The retired judge concluded Aenlle was abusing his power and receiving special treatment, and found substantial evidence of Aenlle and Corpus’ personal relationship beyond friendship.
In Cordell’s report, a transcript of her interview with Aenlle was included. The claim notes that around 29 pages of the transcription were not included in the public release of the report. The included transcript is 99 pages long.
“It is amazing what some Judges will do for money,” the claim reads. “Obviously, if Cordell would cover up part of the tape recorded interviews, she is likely to mis-state what folks said to her when not tape recorded at all.”
The claim suggests that those 29 transcribed pages were “key” and contain the “most significant exculpatory statements” from Aenlle’s interview.
“When considering the totality of events and how this one-sided report has been used to defame Sheriff Corpus and seek to terminate her, the odds of an innocent mistake seem harder to believe than winning the lottery,” the claim reads.
The scathing investigation into the Sheriff’s Office top brass found evidence of a culture of fear fostered within rank-and-file that led to overwhelming calls for a new administration. Almost the entire sworn staff in the Sheriff’s Office has asked Corpus to resign, as well as the San Carlos City Council, congressional and legislative leaders and the Board of Supervisors.
The Deputy Sheriff’s Association have filed complaints with the Public Employment Relations Board, which includes evidence of retaliation against former Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan for participating in the Cordell investigation.
DSA President Carlos Tapia — who was an early whistleblower raising concern of Corpus’ administration — was also arrested without a warrant the morning the investigative report was released for alleged time card fraud. The arrest was ultimately revealed by the District Attorney’s Office to be baseless, raising questions of retaliation as well.
Corpus has repeatedly stated she will not step down, so the county is seeking other avenues to remove her.
The Board of Supervisors have placed a charter amendment on the March ballot, asking voters whether the governing body should be awarded the authority to remove the sheriff from office. This amendment effort was incorrectly identified as a recall effort in the claim, though an official recall committee has been formed by residents.
The county will begin mailing ballots by Monday, Feb. 3, when early voting centers will also open the same day in San Mateo and Redwood City.
(5) comments
On the county elections website I was reading the Primary Argument Against Measure A, written by a Corpus supporter. In it, he claims there were no homicides in San Mateo County in 2024. Yet according to a crime website on the Mercury News, there were 8 homicides in San Mateo County in 2024. For comparison, there were12 homicides in 2023 - her first year as sheriff, and 8 in 2022 - the year before she took office. So ultimately, there was no drop in homicides after she became sheriff. Makes me wonder about the honesty and accuracy of the other reported statistics from Corpus and her supporters.
Hi, CoastalBoy
Thanks for doing some research on Measure A. I don't know for sure but it's possible the eight homicides in 2024 occurred within city limits and not in the unincorporated areas that fall under the county's jurisdiction. The Corpus supporter who penned the argument against Measure A should have clarified this point.
IMO most of the argument against Measure A does not do the sheriff any favors. It repeats the sheriff's attacks on the Board of Supervisors without really addressing the corruption and poor judgment documented in Judge Cordell's report.
Corpus' supporter suggests that our supervisors' $195,782 annual pay is greater than the salaries of US senators or army generals. That's only half true. Senators earn $174,000 annually, but an officer with the rank of full general earns almost $222,000 per year. While we're on the subject of pay, Christina's annual salary is more than $353,000, and her total compensation is over $700,000.
Are we getting our money's worth?
Yes, it could be the case that they were just talking about the unincorporated areas of San Mateo County and the towns the Sheriff's Office patrols. That definitely wasn't made clear in the Arguments Against Measure A. Most people are going to assume that since it's the "San Mateo County" Sheriff's Office, statistics are going to refer to the whole county. But looking at the Mercury News stats for 2022, the year before Corpus became Sheriff, there were also zero homicides in the areas the Sheriff's Office patrols, so zero homicides isn't anything exceptional. The Sheriff's Office doesn't really patrol areas with large populations.
So, Christina "was the first woman and Latino sheriff in the county"? That will be news to Carlos Bolanos. His parents are from Nicaragua.
The sheriff's claims sound a whole lot more like whining instead of legitimate concerns. Some on the left do not know the difference.
And news to Alameda County Sheriff - Yesenia Sanchez. Both were elected in 2022.
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