Dispute intensifies between San Mateo Sheriff and deputies' union

A kerfuffle involving the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and its rank-and-file deputies intensified this week when Sheriff Christina Corpus and the county Board of Supervisors released separate statements about the spat.

In her statement, Corpus struck a defiant tone and said she refused to consider removing her chief of staff, Victor Aenlle, over what she called "political games."

Aenlle is the subject of a "no confidence" vote by the deputies' union, the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff's Association, which also filed unfair labor practice complaints with the California Public Employment Relations Board.

The PERB complaints allege the Sheriff's Office changed its minimum staffing level policy without union input and refused to meet about an expiring overtime policy.

It also alleges Corpus attempted to sow distrust between members of the union and its leadership and that Aenlle tried to convince union members to recall their own board members.

"For the last couple of weeks, special interests seeking to undermine my leadership have sought to bully me with a vote of no confidence against my Chief of Staff," Corpus said. "Let me make it crystal clear: no one will intimidate me into making personnel changes."

The vote holds no legal authority over Aenlle or the Sheriff's Office, but it did seem to capture the attention of the county Board of Supervisors.

In its statement, supervisors said the county has hired an outside investigator, a retired California superior court judge, to get to the bottom of the discord between the Sheriff's Office leadership and its deputies.

"We have commissioned Judge LaDoris Cordell to lead an independent investigation into the numerous complaints brought forward by both sworn and professional staff members of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office," the board said.

The investigation "is distinct and separate" from the unfair labor practice complaints filed with PERB by the union, according to the statement.

It also says supervisors are committed to providing "the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct in county services" and "are also dedicated to ensuring that county employees are treated fairly, with dignity, and in accordance with the law."

The board's statement says the investigation is expected to wrap up "soon," although it didn't provide a possible timeline, and that it will be used to "guide our next steps," which it didn't define.

The statement identifies Supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller as spokespeople on the issue, but both declined requests for comment.

Representatives from the union didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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• San Mateo County