Six candidates vie to lead San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office after Corpus’ historic ouster

With just days to decide San Mateo County supervisors began interviewing candidates Thursday to replace Sheriff Christina Corpus who was removed last month over charges of conflict-of-interest violations and retaliation against deputies accusations she denies The board is moving hastily to fill the top law enforcement post in an appointment that follows Corpus historic ouster the first time a county board in California has removed an elected sheriff The next appointee will inherit an -person department that has long grappled with internal turmoil community scrutiny and strained morale The sheriff s office covers unincorporated areas such as North Fair Oaks and the coast provides contract services to Half Moon Bay Millbrae San Carlos Portola Valley Woodside Caltrain and SamTrans and manages the Maguire Correctional Facility and Maple Street Correctional Center It also runs countywide task forces targeting narcotics automobile thefts and gang activity and coordinates search-and-rescue and mutual-aid operations Thursday s special meeting marked the start of the final phase of the selection process for a new sheriff Supervisors are expected to narrow the field from six qualified candidates to three finalists The new sheriff will serve through County Executive Officer Mike Callagy described the process as a monumental historic lift in a very short period of time Twelve candidates initially applied for the role but five were screened out during the review process One of the seven qualified candidates San Francisco Police Capt Kevin Lee withdrew Thursday morning No reason was given On Thursday the remaining six were each allotted minutes to make opening and closing statements and answer questions from the board After the interviews each supervisor is expected to privately select up to three names on a voting sheet with the county attorney tallying the results aloud The three candidates who receive the preponderance votes will advance to a inhabitants forum next week followed by final interviews and an appointment vote None of the applicants are women They are Kenneth Binder interim chief of police for Gilroy and former undersheriff at the Santa Clara County Sheriff s Office John Doug Davis city manager for Hillsborough and the former chief of police for the Hillsborough Police Department David Lazar a retired assistant chief for the San Francisco Police Department Brian Wynn Huynh Travis chief of police and director of Inhabitants Safety for the Solano Group College District David Weidner a Range Master for the San Mateo County Sheriff s Office Robert Yick a captain and second in command for the San Francisco State University Police Department As of press time all candidates had presented their platforms and completed interviews but supervisors had not yet voted on which candidates would advance During the question portion of the session supervisors pressed candidates on their approaches to rebuilding general trust and department morale managing budgets supporting women s advancement collaborating with civilian oversight reducing jail violence and in-custody deaths and maintaining transparency through measures such as body-worn cameras Even after the county finalized Corpus ouster citizens commenters voiced frustration and challenged the process Majority of speakers were Corpus supporters who questioned the constitutionality of Measure A the charter amendment that lets supervisors remove a sheriff and appoint a replacement until for the elected position The next sheriff will inherit not only an agency in flux but also a six-figure salary According to Transparent California the previous sheriff earned in total compensation in typical for California sheriff s offices Fixin San Mateo County a citizen-led overhaul group urged the board to pair the appointment with stronger oversight This is a critical opportunity for the Board to set a new standard for transparency commented Nancy Goodban the group s executive director By pairing the appointment with an AB oversight mechanism the Board can ensure that the Sheriff s Office remains accountable to the group it serves Goodban was referring to a state law that went into effect in which allows counties to establish an independent civilian review of law enforcement agencies The appointment process followed a contentious vote last month in which supervisors opted to appoint a successor rather than call a special referendum a move that would have cost an estimated million and taken several months Supervisor David Canepa who pushed for a society vote called the decision undemocratic but was outnumbered The three finalists will take part in a citizens question-and-answer session at p m on Nov Residents can submit questions in advance at smcgov org ceo new-sheriff The board is expected to hold final interviews and make its selection at a m on Nov