The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to proceed with forcing Sheriff Christina Corpus out of office, KTLA sister station KRON reports. The sheriff has publicly declared that she will not step down voluntarily due to public pressure and plans to appeal.
County officials said law firm Keker Van Nest & Peters compiled 524 pages of documentary evidence and interviewed 42 witnesses before concluding that the sheriff engaged in multiple acts of misconduct.
Corpus’ alleged misconduct included violating the law related to a sheriff’s duties, flagrant or repeated neglect of duties, misappropriation of public funds, willful falsification of documents and obstructing an investigation.
Tensions and turmoil caused by Corpus’ relationship with an alleged boyfriend, Victor Aenlle, were detailed in an investigation report released in May, and deputies have accused Corpus and Aenlle of creating a hostile working environment.
Witnesses told investigators that the sheriff and Aenlle, who was her campaign manager and chief of staff, act like “a cult of two.”
County Executive Mike Callagy told investigators that he believed Corpus could have been a “rock star” sheriff. “However, he felt she ultimately gave all her power away to Aenlle, which led to her professional challenges,” the report states.
Corpus claims she was targeted because of her ethnicity, writing a September letter to the Board of Supervisors formally accusing Callagy of bullying and discriminating against her because she is a Latina woman.
The sheriff wrote, “I write to you with an immediate call to action to address the retaliation, abuse of power, sexual discrimination, and bullying tactics of your employee, County Executive Mike Callagy. Mr. Callagy told me that I had to inform him of when and who I dated within the county — a request I found not only offensive but demeaning and discriminatory. I was shocked and appalled. I cannot imagine he would have made such a request of my predecessors, all of whom were men.”
Attorneys said the proceedings to oust Corpus officially from office may take up to four months.