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San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus speaks during a press conference in downtown Half Moon Bay. Formerly sworn into office in 2023, Corpus has been sheriff for over a year, hoping to bring in an era of reform during her term.

A 408-page report on a sheriff and her executive team. Allegations of lies, secrecy, and abuses of power. County-wide demands for resignation.

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has faced significant scrutiny following allegations against Sheriff Christina Corpus of fostering a toxic work environment.

On Nov. 12, San Mateo County Supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller released a report over 400 pages long, calling for the sheriff’s immediate resignation. 

The report stemmed from an independent investigation launched in July 2024. The investigator, retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, gathered witness statements and direct evidence concluding that Corpus fostered a culture of retaliation, engaged in a personal relationship with Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle that created a conflict of interest, and used derogatory language in the workplace.

Other allegations sustained by the report include claims that Aenlle abused his authority with Corpus’s approval, failed to meet the duty requirements for a reserve deputy sheriff, and had access to rifles with silencers, despite not being a full-time sworn law enforcement officer.

The same day the report was publicly released, Corpus held a press conference, denying all allegations and refusing to resign.

“I’m not resigning,” Corpus said, according to ABC7 News. “I am an elected official. Elected by the people of this county that represent change.”

On Nov. 13, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously took a vote of no confidence in Corpus, demanded her immediate resignation, and terminated the executive director of administration position — a role created at Corpus’ request for Aenlle with a salary of nearly $250,000. 

In response to this, Corpus promoted Aenlle to assistant sheriff that same afternoon, leading to the supervisors also voting to have their counsel look into whether or not Corpus legally is able to appoint Aenlle as her assistant sheriff.

The situation continues to develop as the board awaits reviews by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office and the San Mateo County Grand Civil Jury.

The board also encourages the public to read the report to understand the evidence and testimony Cordell reviewed to reach her conclusion that “nothing short of new leadership can save this organization that is in turmoil, and its personnel demoralized,” according to her report. 

“The Board of Supervisors is doing everything within our power to ensure that we can restore our community’s trust in the Sheriff’s Office,” Corzo said. “I encourage all of you to read the independent investigator’s full report to learn the facts. The evidence speaks for itself.”

Tracing the events

Following the public release of the report, Corpus’ office is under mounting scrutiny due to allegations of power abuses and workplace retaliation. The report contains testimonies and evidence detailing incidents that have occurred over several years, starting as early as Corpus’ campaign for sheriff.

Corpus and Aenlle’s Response

In response to the findings of Cordell’s investigation, Corpus spoke at a press conference on Nov. 12 to deny all allegations. Corpus also shared that she would not resign due to her duty to serve the community.

“I will not be distracted by all these political games,” Corpus said. “My focus is on the entire office making sure that the county continues to be a safe county to live and prosper from.”

On Nov. 13, before the board unanimously voted to declare it had no confidence in Corpus, the sheriff attended the meeting to deny the allegations once more, stating that the investigation was political.

“What has happened the last few days is disgusting,” Corpus told the board. “This inquiry was politically motivated and one-sided. It was filled with lies.”

Corpus also stated that the investigation was biased, as the individuals whose testimonies were considered for the report were already predetermined.

“Cordell only spoke to people that are unhappy that I am the sheriff because they supported the past administration, and what I will tell you is that these individuals have a vendetta and don’t want me to be in office,” Corpus said. “Other members of the organization reached out to Judge Cordell, and they were turned away.”

As for the allegations regarding her relationship with Aenlle, Corpus denied that the two had a special relationship of any kind.

According to ABC7 News, the two have known each other for 17 years, and Corpus stated that they are “colleagues,” considering him to be a “trusted confidant and friend.”

Additionally, Corpus also said that she never used any homophobic slurs in the workplace. While there are screenshots in Cordell’s report of what is allegedly Corpus calling an employee a “fuzz bumper” — a homophobic slur directed at lesbians — in multiple text messages, Corpus said that she does not recognize the messages at all.

“I do not recognize those text messages. It looks very fabricated to me, ” Corpus said in a press conference. “I don’t speak like that. These are coming from someone vindictive and upset. I’m very disgusted — that’s all I can say.”

Along with Corpus’ public responses, Aenlle has also shared his side of the story in an interview with ABC7 News, denying that the two had a romantic relationship and stating that the report is “built on lies.”

In her report, Cordell has cited one employee who allegedly witnessed Aenlle and Corpus kissing, giving each other massages, and making flirty jokes that made her uncomfortable. However, Aenlle and Corpus said that these accusations were false.

“This has been played over and over just to smear Corpus’ name,” Aenlle said in the interview. “I’m saying that the employee’s statements are not truthful. I believe she had an agenda behind them.”

Beyond the relationship between him and Corpus, according to the report, another allegation is that Aenlle committed a misdemeanor crime for “wearing a facsimile badge that allows him to impersonate a full-time salaried employee” even though he is not authorized to wear such a badge. Corpus may have also committed a misdemeanor by issuing the badge to Aenlle.

However, according to ABC7 News, Aenlle provided training records that show he has all the training required of a full-time sworn officer.

“Judge Cordell is out of line. I think before she made those negligent statements she should’ve checked,” Aenlle said in the interview.

In a separate interview with the Palo Alto Daily Post, Aenlle also denied the allegation that he berated a female employee at her retirement party. 

He said that he had received many positive emails from that employee saying he had been a “wonderful” boss and that she even wrote, “You’ve always been very good to me.”

On Nov. 26, Corpus released an open letter in which she once again refused to step down.

“While these past weeks have been tough, I remain committed to fulfilling the responsibilities I swore to uphold,” Corpus wrote in the letter.

Since Corpus took office in 2023, more than 100 sworn staff have left the Sheriff’s Office, according to the Redwood City Pulse. With an executive team dwindling in size, Corpus also said in her open letter that she would be “moving forward with a restructured leadership team.”

“I remain focused in my commitment to reform, transparency, and collaboration,” Corpus wrote in the letter. “I will continue to advocate for the reforms we have undertaken and the progress we are determined to achieve.”

Community leaders come together

Though, initially, the calls for Corpus’ resignation came primarily from the Board of Supervisors and those who contributed to Cordell’s report, many leaders in San Mateo County have voiced their support for the demand. 

In a press conference the day after the report was released, the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association (DSA) disagreed with the sheriff’s statement that the investigation was politically motivated. 

“I find it a little hard to believe that Corpus would make the rest of us believe that someone who is as respected in her field as Judge Cordell would somehow have fabricated a 400-page report, which was prepared at taxpayers’ expense,” said Eliot Storch, the secretary of DSA. “I don’t think that’s plausible. I don’t think that’s reasonable.”

The San Mateo District Attorney’s Office has also received the report and will begin reviewing the findings.

“We have to prove these things beyond reasonable doubt if there is a violation. We want to make sure that we have that, and we don’t jump into the pool of political comment,” Wagstaffe told ABC7 News.

Only a few days later, the issue spread beyond local leaders, reaching congressional and state leaders including U.S. Reps. Kevin Mullin and Anna Eshoo, State Sen. Josh Becker, and Assemblymembers Marc Berman and Diane Papan. The five reviewed the report and collectively agreed to issue a statement calling for the sheriff’s resignation as well.

On Nov. 27, San Carlos became the first city in San Mateo County to call for Corpus to step down, joining the list of local and state leaders urging her to resign. The City Council unanimously took a position of no confidence in the sheriff.

San Carlos does not have its own police department. It instead has contracted with the Sheriff’s Office since 2010 to provide law enforcement services in the city, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post.

“These are dedicated men and women who keep us safe every day in positions that can be very dangerous at times,” said Councilman Ron Collins. “They serve our residents, who are our constituents. So when their well-being is compromised, that becomes our business.”

San Carlos’ decision to express no confidence in Corpus does not have any direct impact on the situation. However, the council hopes this move will increase the pressure on her to resign.

Along with the call for Corpus’ resignation, the city plans to provide lunch and dinner meals for the next two weeks to both sworn and civilian staff in the Sheriff’s Office who serve San Carlos.

“All we can do is help lend their voice another microphone and another outlet,” said City Manager Jeff Maltbie. “They are out there every day, putting their lives on the line, risking themselves for us. They need our help. They have loudly asked for it in the only way they can.” 

What every community needs

When Corpus ran for office in 2022, her campaign focused on bringing a reformed era of transparency and accountability to the office. 

According to KQED, many of the figures who are now in support of her resignation had endorsed her campaign in 2022, including Mullin and Becker.

Jim Lawrence, board chair of Fixin’ San Mateo County, had also endorsed Corpus and was thrilled when she was elected. Fixin’ San Mateo County is a grassroots organization dedicated to enacting effective civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Office.

“My organization, as well as myself, walked and marched for her. We wanted her. We wanted change. She talked about transparency, accountability, bringing 20th-century policing into that particular office,” Lawrence said. “That was the Christina Corpus we helped get elected. The person there today, that’s not the person that we campaigned for.”

Corpus’ predecessor, Sheriff Carlos Bolanos, faced accusations of abusing his power by prioritizing campaign donors when issuing concealed carry gun permits, among other scandals that plagued his tenure.

Because of this, supporters such as Lawrence are disappointed by findings in the report that accuse Corpus of abuse of power and creating a culture of intimidation and retaliation.

“There’s a level of trust that’s not out there. When you have city councils voting no confidence, all of our elected leaders saying she needs to step aside and resign, I don’t know what else we need to say to her,” Lawrence said. “We need to go forward. We can’t go forward with her.”

Corpus has said in multiple press conferences that she will not resign, and because she is an elected official, the Board of Supervisors currently has no power to remove her from office.

However, on Nov. 19, the board unanimously agreed to advance a temporary charter amendment which, if passed by San Mateo County voters in a special election held in March 2025, would grant them the power to remove a sheriff with reasonable cause.

The Board of Supervisors will hold a second vote at its regular meeting on Dec. 3. Once the ordinance is approved, it will be up to the San Mateo County Elections Office to organize the special election.

Corpus has said the March ballot measure is an attempt by the Board of Supervisors to take over her office.

“If you want a sheriff out, you hold a recall,” Corpus said in a statement on Nov. 19. “This is a blatant attempt to go around the voters. They don’t want a recall vote because they know they will lose.”

In addition to the board’s campaign, former Caltrain CEO Jim Hartnett, who is also an attorney and former Redwood City mayor, is also organizing a voter recall, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post. Hartnett had spoken with Mueller to organize a group to gather signatures on Saturday.

The campaign would need to get 43,646 signatures, representing 10% of registered voters in San Mateo County.

The recall question would go on the November 2025 ballot, according to Mueller, who will be helping with both this and the March campaign.

As the matter continues to develop, supporters are hoping to take the next step that is best for the community.

“It goes back to leadership. In an organization, if the leader is practicing good and progressive law enforcement and being actively transparent in all their communications, everything just flows down the line,” Lawrence said. “We need a sheriff’s office that really reflects the community, that understands the community. Transparency, accountability, good law enforcement practices — those things build an organization that the people are proud of.”