As she faces two separate efforts to remove her from office, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus is now subject to tighter financial oversight, with supervisors voting unanimously Tuesday to require county executive approval for any contracts below $200,000 — a change Corpus says will hinder her ability to run the department.
The ordinance, approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, comes after a review found Sheriff’s Office reserves had fallen to less than 0.5% of net appropriations, far below the 4% minimum required under the county’s reserve policy.
Under the new rules, the Sheriff’s Office no longer has authority to approve contracts below $200,000 on its own. Instead, those agreements must be submitted to the County Executive’s Office for review and approval. Contracts over $200,000 already need approval from the Board of Supervisors, according to current county policies.
The Sheriff’s Office has about 825 employees, including deputies and administrative staff and a budget of over $324 million. In addition to managing jails and providing court security, it serves San Mateo County’s 725,000 residents, providing law enforcement for unincorporated areas and contract cities such as San Carlos.
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Corpus, elected in 2022, argued that county-level decisions — not her management — drove the budget shortfall. She cited the county executive’s authorization of double overtime, a $10 million contribution to a building project, and cost-of-living adjustments negotiated before she took office.
During her August removal hearing, initiated by San Mateo County through voter-approved Measure A, she linked double-overtime issues to multiple misconduct and corruption accusations made against her by two sheriff unions. She has so far denied any allegations of misconduct and refuses to step down. Aside from the county removal process, Corpus also faces a separate removal process through civil grand jury proceedings.
“The most significant impact on the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to meet the 2% reserve requirement resulted from a decision made by the county executive to authorize double overtime,” Corpus said.
She described the new oversight as “fundamentally unfair” and “retaliatory behavior,” warning that it would set a “dangerous precedent” undermining the independence of her office.
County Executive Mike Callagy disputed her account, saying the Sheriff’s Office requested the double overtime to address retention and that Corpus was “intimately involved” in the decision.
His office, he added, only agreed to cover 25% of the costs.
“The spending ultimately went completely out of control,” Callagy said, citing an email in which Corpus took “full responsibility” for the lack of oversight.
He also said the $10 million contribution for various projects arranged with her predecessor and other funds were already earmarked. The county, he added, has provided her office millions for radios, hiring bonuses, cost-of-living adjustments and new positions.
“This revisionist history on this double overtime has got to stop,” Callagy said.
Supervisors framed the decision as a matter of fiscal responsibility.
“The County Reserves Policy is consistent with our obligation to be watchdogs over our organization,” Supervisor Jackie Speier, who sponsored the measure, said. “The Sheriff’s Office has not met the reserve requirement across two years.”
Tensions surfaced during the hearing when Corpus accused Supervisor Noelia Corzo of giving her “dirty looks.”
Corzo, who previously supported Corpus, led calls for her resignation last year after retired Judge LaDoris Cordell released a 400-page investigative report that sparked the current removal proceedings.
“It is unprofessional of you as a board member to be doing that to me. Have some respect,” Corpus told Corzo during the meeting.
Corpus has also sought court intervention in a separate legal matter, filing for a temporary stay to block supervisors from removing her with less than 24 hours’ notice. Her lawyers brought the case before Judge Nina Shapirshteyn in the county’s northern district courthouse in South San Francisco. As of press time, no decision had been posted.
The sheriff’s lawyers argued the process, which would immediately remove Corpus upon a vote by the county board, would render judicial review meaningless and cause “irreparable harm.”
The county countered that the court lacks jurisdiction to issue a stay because the Board of Supervisors has not yet made a final decision to remove Corpus from office. The county said if the board does vote to remove the sheriff, they will wait at least 14 days before filling the vacancy, providing time for a judicial review.
The budget oversight and court motions come as removal proceedings against Corpus near their conclusion. A March special election, prompted by Cordell’s investigation, gave the county board power to remove a sheriff with cause until 2028, when Corpus’ term ends.
Retired Judge James Emerson presided over removal hearings that concluded last month and has 45 days to issue a written advisory opinion. The board then has 30 days to review, with a four-fifths majority vote needed to dismiss Corpus. If removed, she would be the first sheriff in California to be ousted by a board of supervisors.
Corpus has sought relief in multiple county and federal courts to stop the removal efforts, which her lawyers argue violate her due process rights. All judges have declined to intervene. Her legal team also commissioned their own review by former Riverside County Superior Court Judge Burke Strunsky, who criticized Cordell’s reliance on anonymous sources and unrecorded interviews.
If Corpus is removed, the board would have 30 days to appoint a replacement or call a special election. If no action is taken, the county elections office must schedule an election.