New year, new notes, quotes, dust motes

Facts change, times change, public opinions change, and elected officials often need to change with them, even at the risk of appearing to flip-flop on an issue.

People used to think the Earth was flat. We know now that it is not, proof enough being that, if it were, someone would have bought up the edges and would be selling high-end excursions to the ends of world.

Anyway, all this comes to mind as San Mateo County Supervisors Jackie Speier and David Canepa combined to offer a board code of conduct that was adopted unanimously this week by the five supervisors.

It is a 10-point code, and the most salient — certainly the longest — might be No. 5, which reads, in part, “Board members will refrain from … engaging in unsubstantiated or intemperate verbal or written attacks on the character or motives of other Board members, staff, and members of the public.”

In the discussion of this code of conduct, and perhaps in the spirit of a fresh start with a new board, the supervisors opted not to note that Speier introduced this measure in reaction to intemperate remarks by Canepa in which he accused colleague Ray Mueller of engaging in racist behavior. This probably was a factor in Mueller’s efforts to recruit Speier for the board.

Canepa’s attack on Mueller came nearly two years ago, which would qualify as then. Canepa said this week, which would qualify as now, that the code is “more than a formality.” He said some other stuff about public trust and upholding the values of the community. What he has not said — at least not publicly — is that he regrets those remarks and will not do it again.

In the same spirit of newness, or now-ness, with which the board appears imbued, moving on seems to be the order of the day.

THAT WAS THEN: Since we are going over past remarks, I was struck by a recent news release from Sheriff Christina Corpus touting a decline in crime during her tenure. As Mark Twain said, there are “lies, damn lies and statistics,” and we will see how healthy these numbers might look a few months from now.

But what caught my eye was Corpus’ assertion that when she ran for the job in 2022, she gave the public “my word I would fight the status quo and get crime under control.”

Funny, but this is not how I remember it. Since I keep forgetting how bad my memory is, I went back to Corpus’ campaign website and checked. Sure enough, the two sustaining messages, repeated over and over, are that she would be a “sheriff we can trust,” and that she would serve with “integrity and transparency.” Of course, I can understand why she might have thought it prudent to move on to some new themes.

By the way, more than one police chief will tell you it is never wise to take credit for the decline in crime, unless you are prepared to take the blame when crime goes up. … In her $10 million claim against the county, Corpus was depicted as someone who has been discriminated against because she is a woman and Latinx. It might be worthwhile, then, to inquire as to how many women and Latinos Corpus has recruited and promoted to command positions. No need to look — the answer is none. Her oft-maligned predecessor, Carlos Bolanos, had a much better record in this area. … For the sake of the permanent record, the $200,000-paid retired Judge LaDoris Cordell to prepare the report on the internal complaints about Corpus and the good doctor, Victor Aenlle, reflected an hourly rate of $750. Simple math suggests it took her 267 hours to interview 40 people and write the report.

NOTE-TYPE NOTE: A fight is underway between moderates and progressives over who might represent the 21st Assembly District as delegates at the upcoming state Democratic convention. This is as insider as inside politics can get, but there are two opposing slates — a lineup of well-established community leaders, led by Assemblymember Diane Papan, against young progressives, many of them students, few of them with any kind of public profile. This is another round in the ongoing fight for local party control. In last year’s city council elections, progressives did not so well. We will see if the trend continues.

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.