#sheriff-removal

#sheriff-removal

SHERIFF OUSTED: The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors removed Sheriff Christina Corpus from office in October 2025 due to allegations and findings that she misused public funds, retaliated against subordinates and violated conflict-of-interest laws, particularly concerning her chief of staff, Victor Aenlle. Following her removal, former Santa Clara County Sheriff Ken Binder was appointed as the new sheriff. He's the brother of Palo Alto police chief Andrew Binder.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors will ask the public tomorrow night (Oct. 28) for their ideas on how to fill the vacancy left when the sheriff was fired. The board unanimously ousted elected Sheriff Christina Corpus on Oct. 14. Undersheriff Dan Perea, who was hired by Corpus, has assumed the sheriff's duties but won't be elevated to the title of interim sheriff.

Following several investigations, a special election, and a formal recommendation for her removal from office, San Mateo County supervisors will vote Tuesday to force out Sheriff Christina Corpus. Finding that she reportedly violated conflict-of-interest laws and retaliated against deputies who challenged her authority, retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Emerson found cause for Corpus' removal on four charges while dismissing more than a dozen others, most involving retaliation claims by employees who opposed her leadership.

San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus will remain sheriff for two weeks even if the Board of Supervisors votes to remove her. Corpus and her lawyers asked Superior Court Judge Nira Shapirshteyn to halt the supervisors from removing her for alleged corruption. Shapirshteyn ruled today that since the board has not had its final vote, she can't issue a halt to Corpus' removal at this point.

Corpus faces two simultaneous efforts to oust her: one under Measure A, a voter-approved initiative passed in March granting the Board of Supervisors authority to remove a sheriff through 2028, and another stemming from a civil grand jury accusation filed in June alleging misconduct and abuse of power. If removed, she would be the first elected sheriff in California ousted by a county board.

Fighting to keep her job, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus this week described how she had been plagued by misogyny and sexism amid a male-dominated law enforcement culture in her office even as efforts to remove her derailed her reforms. Corpus concluded her testimony under oath Wednesday, after a full day on the stand Tuesday, in a public hearing that could lead to her removal from office.

The removal of Sheriff Christina Corpus should be conducted publicly with full transparency, not behind closed doors, as elected official proceedings require openness.