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Next month, voters will decide whether to give the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors the authority to remove Sheriff Christina Corpus from office as she faces allegations of misconduct and abuse of power.
If approved on March 4, Measure A would amend the county charter to allow supervisors to remove a sheriff for cause. The measure would sunset in 2028, aligning with the end of Corpus’ current term. Currently, elected officials cannot remove other elected officials from office.
This type of charter amendment is not unprecedented in California. Other counties, including Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Francisco, allow their supervisors to remove a sheriff for specific causes with a four-fifths vote. Under Measure A, the sheriff would be allowed to defend herself before the board could take any vote.
In December, supervisors unanimously placed the measure on the ballot after the release of a 408-page report from a county-commissioned independent investigation detailing corruption, power abuse and other violations in Corpus’ administration.
What happens if Measure A passes?
If the sheriff’s seat becomes vacant, Undersheriff Dan Perea would immediately begin acting as sheriff, according to a presentation given by the San Mateo County Attorney’s Office to the Independent Civilian Advisory Commission, which clarified procedures in the county’s charter for filling a vacant sheriff position.
Perea was appointed undersheriff in June 2024 following the resignation of former Undersheriff Chris Hsiung. If the undersheriff position is vacant, the assistant sheriff—currently unfilled—would step in. If both roles are vacant, the chief deputy would assume the acting sheriff role. Assistant Sheriff Matthew Fox resigned in November.
The Board of Supervisors would have 30 days to appoint an interim sheriff or call for a special election to fill the position. If no action is taken, the County Elections Office must schedule a special election. The appointed sheriff would serve the remainder of Corpus’ term.
If a special election is called, it must be held within 102 to 131 days after the order unless a general election is already scheduled within 270 days.
The Board of Supervisors has not indicated whether they plan to appoint a successor or hold a special election if Measure A passes and Corpus is removed.
Should the Measure fail, Corpus may still be removed via a traditional recall process.
ICAC recommendations
The San Mateo County Independent Civilian Advisory Commission is drafting recommendations on actions the Board should take if Measure A passes or fails.
ICAC Chair Kalimah Salahuddin presented a draft version of the commission’s recommendations at the Feb. 5 meeting and said that if the measure passes and the Board intends to remove Sheriff Corpus, the Board should establish a comprehensive communications plan and a transparent process to reestablish trust with San Mateo County residents.
Salahuddin suggested that the county use the recent recall and reappointment of a school board position that happened in June in Alameda County as a model for how to involve the community in the selection process for a new sheriff, even if the new sheriff is selected through an appointment process. Salahuddin said she does not want the community to feel like there was a “pre-ordained” choice that the Board had in mind when appointing a successor should the sheriff be removed.
“There was a community review component of their process,” she said. “(An advisory body) was able to narrow it down to six applicants … and they also had each applicant do a video that answered questions about what they would do in the role. … The ultimate responsibility of the appointment is always the board, but it helped the community see — like these are the candidates that we are looking through, to give them a flavor of the candidates, and hopefully and understanding of why we went with one of those six.”
She also said that if the measure passes, transparency from the county and Board of Supervisors regarding the timeline for Corpus’ potential removal and the process of choosing her successor would be paramount.
If Measure A fails, Salahuddin said that the Board is still responsible for increasing transparency with the public. She suggested the Board consider creating an inspector general position to oversee the Sheriff’s Office. Community policing reform advocates, such as Fixin’ San Mateo County members, have been calling for an inspector general for years.
“This would be a way to have another layer of accountability and transparency and, most importantly, rebuilding public trust,” said Salahuddin.
Nancy Goodban, Executive Director of Fixin’ San Mateo County, suggested that ICAC consider recommending the installation of an inspector general position even if Measure A passes and Corpus is removed.
“It’s still worth looking at an ongoing kind of inspector general function to try to forestall this from happening again,” said Goodban.
Special election
Ballots were mailed to 444,500 registered voters in San Mateo County on Feb. 3. Voters can return their mail-in ballots or vote in person by March 4. As of Feb. 13, about 42,000 ballots (10% of total ballots) had been returned.
To learn more about the text of the measure and the arguments from supporters and critics of the measure, read this news organization’s Measure A voter guide.
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Rock on, Kalimah Salahuddin! This depressing circus has severely lowered my trust in any of the people involved. Transparency in the future might help restore some of it.