San Mateo County board to vote on Sheriff Corpus removal after months of hearings

San Mateo County, California – On Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 9 a.m., the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors will hold a special public hearing to discuss whether or not to remove Sheriff Christina Corpus from her job. There have been months of investigations, hearings, and appeals under Measure A, which is the county charter change that lets the Board fire an elected sheriff for a good reason.

Any action to remove the sheriff requires a four-fifths vote from the Board. Supervisors will look over an advisory opinion that retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Emerson sent in on October 6. Emerson was the independent hearing officer in charge of the appeal process. Emerson’s 42-page report is based on a 10-day public hearing that took place in August. During this time, witnesses spoke and evidence was shown about Sheriff Corpus’s alleged wrongdoing.

The advisory opinion said that the data supported four different reasons for removal. These results come from Emerson’s own review of the case after the sheriff appealed the Board’s decision in June to start the removal process.

Everyone voted to start the removal process on June 24. The Board took action after getting a report from the law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP that showed substantial wrongdoing and violations of county norms. That report started the formal hearing procedure that Measure A guarantees to any elected individual who is about to be removed.

The charter says that “cause” for removal can include breaking the law, misusing public funds, getting in the way of an inquiry, or doing anything that makes it hard to do official tasks. Before a removal can happen, the Board must find such cause by a preponderance of the evidence.

The meeting on October 14 will be open to the public and will be held in the County Government Center’s Board Chambers. People will be able to sit down in the order they arrive, and cameras and recording devices will be allowed in public areas. People who can’t make it in person can watch the meeting live on the county’s online public meeting portal, where they can also read all the materials, including the advisory opinion.

If the Board decides to fire Sheriff Corpus, it will be the first time Measure A has been used since it was passed. The vote will decide if she stays in charge of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office or is officially fired after months of criticism of her behavior and leadership.