A year in review

There have been almost daily developments, a pace that seems unsustainable. Although, clearly, it is the strategy of Sheriff Christina Corpus and her close, personal friend, the good doctor, to keep their version of the story alive through a constant stream of combative accusations, counter-accusations and other miseries.

Corpus’ continuing message is succinct, honed by countless repetitions: The “old boys club” of insiders is undermining her efforts at reform; they are all out to get her.

This is a convenient fabrication. It is one of the great and common risks in politics for someone to believe their own hogwash.

Let us look beyond the rhetoric.

To her credit, Corpus recognized her own shortcomings as a leader of a multifaceted law enforcement agency with 800 employees. In her 20 years climbing the ranks of the Sheriff’s Office, she directly managed a workforce a fraction of the size of the office.

So, she did something smart leaders do — she hired two outsiders with impeccable credentials as her undersheriff and as assistant sheriff in charge of operations. Then she hired Victor Aenlle. Indeed, she pushed hard for his hiring, despite his scant credentials. He had been a volunteer reserve deputy for 15 years; the bulk of his career was as a real estate agent; and he had a doctorate (hence, the good doctor) from an online school in an interdisciplinary course of study titled “Ethical and Creative Leadership.” You cannot make this stuff up.

As indicated in the report prepared by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell into misconduct in the Sheriff’s Office, most of the complaints that have buffeted Corpus’ tenure emanated from Aenlle. Within months, the undersheriff had quit and Corpus tried to fire the assistant sheriff, allegedly as retaliation for his cooperating with Cordell. These were her own people and, essentially, they are gone.

Then, consider these comments during the 2022 race for sheriff from an office insider, who donated $250 to her campaign: “There is nothing wrong with change. … It’s time to change the way the public feels about us and the sheriff.”

The remarks were from an interview I did with Carlos Tapia, president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, who was arrested at the order of the sheriff minutes before the Cordell report was made public. The arrest was dismissed this week by District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe as entirely without merit.

In an environment rife with accusations of intimidation and retaliation, the Tapia arrest was profoundly, politically and legally stupid, and offers all the stark confirmation the Cordell report might have needed about an atmosphere of intimidation and retaliation.

So, here we are, a mere 75 days until the March 4 special election to decide if the Board of Supervisors will be given the authority to sit in formal judgment over the sheriff. It will be only about 45 days before mail-in ballots begin dropping.

So, just after the new year, expect a compressed campaign to launch into high gear. We know what the sheriff will say and she appears more than determined to reap the whirlwind she has sown. Her opponents better be ready to keep pace, and more. They need to recognize the Cordell report is only a starting point, all it ever was intended to be.

A stronger case for the ballot measure will have to be made.

YES, THERE IS OTHER NEWS: The Sheriff’s Office crisis has overshadowed other major stories. An inadequate sampling: In Millbrae, a fight over transitional housing for the formerly homeless became a rallying for a bunch of issues seething just below the surface. It cost two councilmembers their positions. … Leading progressives were ousted from office in a political retrenchment to moderation and pragmatism. … A new generation of local electeds was ushered in — state Sen. Josh Becker noted 30 new councilmembers in his district. In San Mateo County, we count 21 new Asian American Pacific Islander officeholders. … County voters backed a statewide measure to crack down on retail theft, and voted against a statewide housing bond. Housing — building/not building, and the mounting legal and political pressure that skews both ways — remained a dominant issue in 2024.

Mark Simon is a veteran journalist, whose career included 15 years as an executive at SamTrans and Caltrain. He can be reached at marksimon@smdailyjournal.com.