San Carlos city leaders call on San Mateo County sheriff to resign

SAN CARLOS, Calif. (KRON) – The San Carlos City Council has voted unanimously to declare “no confidence” in the San Mateo County sheriff. The council is now part of a growing list of state and local leaders calling on Christina Corpus to resign after a scathing report was released about her.

That explosive 400-page report released earlier this month accused Corpus of creating a toxic work environment, using racial and homophobic slurs and having an inappropriate relationship with a coworker. The sheriff herself has denied all of the allegations and has been refusing to step down. 

In 2010, the City of San Carlos dissolved its police department and started a contract with the sheriff’s office. And while the council believes this was a successful partnership, they say they no longer have faith in Corpus.

At Monday night’s meeting, two San Carlos residents spoke out during public comment - one in favor of Corpus stepping down and the other against the move.

Two weeks ago, county supervisors formally asked Corpus to resign following the release of the independent report, which included findings of abuse of power, retaliation, intimidation, homophobia and racism in Corpus’ office. She’s also accused of having an intimate relationship with her then-chief of staff Victor Aenlle, whom she recently promoted to assistant sheriff. 

"She's lost the confidence of her captains, her deputies, the union, and even the deputy sheriff’s organization has called for her resignation as well," said San Carlos Mayor John Dugan. 

Among those attending the meeting was Carlos Tapia – the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association president. 

Tapia was one of the first people to speak out about the abuse of power within the sheriff’s office. He was then arrested for felony grand theft. He too called on Corpus to resign Monday night. 

Current and former sheriff’s office employees tell KRON4 they want to speak out against the sheriff but they now fear the same retaliation. 

"That’s true. Look what happened to me. I was doing union-protected business and then I was arrested," Tapia said. “Obviously (the) report had a lot of stuff in there that was gross. It's stuff that we can't have a person like that in office."

This resolution passed by the San Carlos City Council doesn’t actually change anything, but it’s the council’s way of showing support for her stepping down.