San Mateo Co. Voters To Decide Whether Embattled Sheriff Keeps Her Job

SAN MATEO, CA — A special election on Tuesday could determine whether San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus gets to keep her job.

Voters countywide will first decide if the county Board of Supervisors has the power to remove a sheriff for cause with a four-fifths vote. In December, the board of supervisors called for a special election for Measure A.

The election comes months after the county hired former Judge LaDoris Cordell to investigate Corpus after multiple sheriff's deputies came forward with complaints of retaliation. Deputies also shared details of an inappropriate relationship between Corpus and her Chief of Staff, Victor Aenlle.

What followed was a 400-page report of interviews with current and past employees that alleged abuse of power, retaliation, intimidation, homophobia and racism in Corpus' office.

After the report, calls for Corpus to step down came from a growing list of local and state politicians, the Board of Supervisors, the San Carlos City Council, and unions representing sheriff's deputies in the county.

Corpus has refused to resign but voters will decide whether the county Board of Supervisors can oust her from office.

"By allowing the Board of supervisors to do this, they also get to appoint an interim replacement," Noel Higdon, political analyst at UC Santa Cruz told NBC Bay Area. "So that seems semi-undemocratic in the sense that the person who was elected could be overthrown by this board, and then someone who was not elected could replace them."

What voters need to know

Registered voters in the county should have received their mail-in ballots by the Monday before election day. Ballots can be returned at vote centers and drop boxes as early as the Monday before election day.

According to the county, the post-election day results will be released before 4:30 p.m. on the following dates:

• Thursday, March 6
• Monday, March 10
• Wednesday, March 12
• Friday, March 14
• Additional updates will be scheduled as needed.

Results of the election will be certified on April 3.

SEE LIVE RESULTS HERE

As of 4:30 p.m. on March 3 in San Mateo County, there were 444,497 registered voters and 86,572 vote by mail ballots had been received. At vote centers, at least 535 ballots were received.

To see a list of vote centers and ballot drop box locations, visit this link.

READ MORE: Board Accuses Sheriff Of Lies, Abuse, And Using Homophobic Slur

Following the report against Corpus last year, the sheriff was reportedly quick to fire union president Carlos Tapia, one of her biggest critics. She also ordered his arrest on charges that were later dropped by the District Attorney's Office.

After Tapia's arrest, Corpus said that she was targeted by a "good old boy system."

"I am a woman of color who has gone up the ranks in a male-dominated field," Corpus said in a November press conference.

Then, on Dec. 3, Corpus filed a claim against the county. Her lawyer, Bradley Gage, says Corpus, who is Latina, has been the victim of discrimination, harassment and defamation.

"There are some who unfortunately still believe that law enforcement is a white man's world," the claim alleges. "They have tried to spread false and salacious rumors about Sheriff Corpus. Some of those detractors do not like the fact that she is the first female and first Latin X Sheriff in the 167-year history of the Sheriff's Department."

The county hit back in response to the claim in a statement in January, saying that the allegations are "baseless and a distraction."

READ MORE: SMC Sheriff Files $10M Claim Over 'Evil Scheme' Against Her

Bay City News contributed to this report.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated that voters approved Measure A in December, triggering Tuesday's election. It was the Board of Supervisors who called for a special election on Tuesday.