9 responses to “Watching the new sheriff in town–or trying to”

1. Lemming R US

   May 5, 2023

   You get the feeling she has figured out that she is in over her head.

2. Lemming R US

   April 4, 2024

   Daily Post
   BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
   Daily Post Staff Writer
   A former union leader and police sergeant is suing San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus and her Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle, alleging they demoted and disparaged him because the union didn’t endorse Corpus’s campaign.
   The sheriff’s office “will vigorously defend itself from these false claims,” spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker said in an email. She declined further comment.
   Sheriff’s Deputy David Wozniak said in his March 19 lawsuit that Corpus was “hostile and resistant” to the union’s endorsement process ahead of the June 2022 election, when she was running against former Sheriff Carlos Bolanos.
   Although the endorsement process hadn’t changed in over a decade, Corpus called it a “charade orchestrated by my opponent, which is little more than an extension of the existing power structure,” Wozniak said in his lawsuit.
   Corpus allegedly refused to answer a questionnaire.
   A political committee managed by Wozniak, as president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association union, voted to endorse Bolanos, the lawsuit says.
   Weeks after Corpus took office in January 2023, she allegedly told Wozniak that his temporary assignment as acting sergeant was ending.
   Wozniak was returned to his previous classification as deputy sheriff, the suit says.
   This was the first interaction Wozniak had with Corpus as his boss, the suit says.
   >Wozniak had been acting sergeant since August 2022 and worked in the sheriff’s office for 28 years.
   Wozniak said he thought he was headed for a permanent promotion because he received positive feedback from a lieutenant and Bolanos.
   Wozniak said that Corpus created two leadership roles for Aenlle, who is “her close friend,” the lawsuit says.
   Aenlle was an adviser to her campaign and a consultant to her transition team, the lawsuit says. The sheriff has never had a transition team before, the lawsuit says.
   In July of 2023, Aenlle was promoted to a newly created position, called “Executive Director of Administration.”
   >Aenlle is also listed as Corpus’s Chief of Staff. He makes $114 an hour, according to Deputy County Counsel David Silberman.
   Aenlle was “vocal about his dislike of Wozniak” and viewed him being union president as a “problem” and a “headache” for the sheriff, the lawsuit says.
   Aenlle is a “final decision maker” for the sheriff and was treated as such by other people in the office, the lawsuit says.
   Wozniak is seeking to recover the higher pay he would’ve received as a sergeant, including a higher pension.
   Wozniak is also asking a judge to assess punitive damages on Corpus, Aenlle and the sheriff’s office.
   Attorney Grant Winter filed Wozniak’s lawsuit in San Mateo County Superior Court.
   The first hearing is scheduled on Aug. 19 with Judge Michael Mau.

3. Joe

   June 13, 2024

   The new Citizens Oversight Committee of the sherriffs department has been named. I don’t know any of them, but that’s not surprising. The DJ has listed them, and I will add them here as we watch the watchers do their thing:
   The seven residents appointed to the inaugural commission include Marco Durazo, James Simmons, William McClure, Rob Silano, Kalimah Salahuddin, each respectively chosen to represent a supervisor’s district. Mike Fisher was chosen by Sheriff Christina Corpus and Shirley Melnicoe was named as at-large member by supervisors and commission liaisons Warren Slocum and Dave Pine. The board also appointed Rebecca Carabez and Alexis Lewis as two nonvoting at-large alternates.
   “I know you’ll agree that when you look at the composition of this commission, it’s really diverse in terms of its gender, race, the different communities that folks are from, life experience and different geographical representation,” Slocum said.
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   I guess we will have to see about that.
   https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-mateo-county-sheriff-s-office-oversight-committee-set/article_34a7c040-2869-11ef-8b25-139679f726f1?utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1718200829&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline

4. Joe

   September 7, 2024

   The new sheriff is getting a taste of what management is like:
   San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, under fire for staffing and contract issues as a result of workforce shortages, said she wants to come to a resolution with the Deputy Sheriff’s Association over alleged unfair labor practices.
   Though DSA President Carlos Tapia said he also hopes to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible, the concern remains in how the Sheriff’s Office is approaching these conversations.
   “This has never happened before,” Tapia said. “In fact, this is not the type of relationship that we’re used to.”
   The DSA filed an official complaint Aug. 30 regarding unfair labor practices and union busting within the Sheriff’s Office, alleging unilateral decision making without union conference and interference in protected union activities.
   Before the negotiating parties came to a conclusion, the overtime special order that was in effect for many years expired Aug. 7. The proposed policy by the Sheriff’s Office maintained a required 24 hours of overtime per pay period, with an increase from 12 to 18 hours dedicated specifically to corrections.
   “I don’t know why we’re here today,” Corpus said. “This is all because I’m asking people to pitch in and help out where the need is at.”

5. The HepCat

   September 13, 2024

   The sheriff may have dug herself a bigger hole than some people thought. Now that the supervisors have hired a judge to look into the deputies’ complaints this might get interesting.
   They chose an insider with Judge Cordell so who knows which was this plays out.

6. Joe

   September 22, 2024

   18 months into her term, Christina Corpus appears to be struggling with the job responsibilities. The Merc just reported:
   Assistant sheriff fired after cooperating with probe into San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office; elected official suggests ‘possible retaliation’ by top cop
   Sheriff Christina Corpus maintains Supervisor Ray Mueller ‘should have the facts before weighing in on a subject as important as this,’ says he is ‘just trying to get publicity’
   REDWOOD CITY — An independent investigation into personnel allegations the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has received about the sheriff’s office took a shocking turn Friday when an elected official linked an assistant sheriff’s termination to his cooperation with the probe.
   In a statement on behalf of the board, Supervisor Ray Mueller said it came to his attention late in the afternoon that Sheriff Christina Corpus had fired Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan. The termination, he noted, happened after Monaghan was interviewed by LaDoris Cordell, a former judge who was appointed to lead the investigation.
   “When the people of San Mateo County elected me as sheriff, they entrusted me to make decisions about who I include on my executive staff,” Corpus said. “The coach picks the team. Period.”
   Last week, 306 union members approved a no-confidence vote against the chief of staff, while 12 opposed it. The sheriff’s office has about 800 law enforcement personnel.
   Corpus, in a statement last week, said the vote was “nothing more than a political stunt” by special interests to undermine her leadership and bully her into making personnel changes.
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   I seriously doubt Supe Ray Mueller is stunting for publicity and losing a vote 306-12 is hardly a stunt either.

7. Joe

   September 24, 2024

   Yesterday’s DJ article on the on-going controversy between the County manager, a Supervisor and the Sheriff took another wild turn. Here’s a snippet:
   An effort to reinstate Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan, who was fired Friday, was one of the examples of bullying from Callagy that Corpus said she has experienced.
   “My recent decision to fire Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan stands and any continued effort to block this decision will be met with legal action to protect the integrity of my office and my responsibility to keep the residents of San Mateo County safe,” Corpus said.
   Corpus said this “bullying” has occurred from Callagy since she was elected. She said he made an “inappropriate and offensive request” that Corpus share who she dated within the county and when.
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   I’m not sure where this is headed.

8. The HepCat

   October 9, 2024

   Mike Callagy has stopped the sheriff from firing her assistant sheriff! He told HR to not process the paperwork. I didn’t know he could do that but I guess he can.

9. Joe

   November 13, 2024

   The heat around the new sheriff just went from high to scalding as per the DJ piece today and the County supes’ meeting to figure out what to do about her that starts in about an hour!!! From the DJ–a couple excerpts:
   After months of waiting and a flurry of crossfire accusations, an independent investigation into San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus and third-in-command Victor Aenlle found substantial evidence of abuse of power, retaliation and conflicts of interest.
   The investigation was conducted by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell and culminated in a 400-page report substantiating 12 of 15 allegations of “shocking and reprehensible” matters within the office’s leadership by current and former civilian and sworn employees.
   “It is my belief this report lays out the case clearly,” Mueller said. “Sheriff Corpus’ tenure must come to an end, whether by resignation or removal.”
   Ongoing rumors that Corpus and Aenlle have a personal relationship beyond friendship — a violation of the county’s nepotism policy — were substantiated with “overwhelming factual evidence,” Cordell found.
   The morning the report was presented, Carlos Tapia, the president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, was arrested for felony grand theft by false pretenses. Tapia has been a key figure in the effort to expose the Corpus administration’s flaws, and for leading the charge in a labor dispute alleging unilateral decision making relating to overtime and staffing without union conference.
   The union, along with the San Mateo County Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants, condemned the arrest, saying it has “all the earmarks of whistleblower retaliation.”