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Redwood City — The Board of Supervisors today approved steps by which it could consider removing an elected sheriff from office for cause.
The County’s outside counsel Alfonso Estrada, who answered Board questions about the process, emphasized that the procedures allow for “several independent checks” developed with “an eye toward fundamental fairness to the County and the sheriff.”
Today’s vote sets the process for implementing voter-approved Measure A which amended the County Charter through Dec. 31, 2028 to allow for the removal of a sheriff by the Board if it finds on a four-fifths vote that there is cause to do so. Cause include violating the law related to a sheriff’s duties, flagrant or repeated neglect of duties, misappropriation of public funds, willful falsification of documents or obstructing an investigation.
Next, the Board at a public meeting may consider sending the sheriff a Notice of Intent to Remove by a four-fifths vote. A notice must include the alleged reasons for removing the sheriff and a date to appear at a pre-removal conference. The Board has expressed its desire to ensure a fair and transparent process. Once the notice is sent, the next series of steps are tied to specific timeframes and the County’s outside counsel has estimated the total process, without any delays, could take about four months.
Specifically, following the approval of a Notice of Intent:
- The sheriff appears at a pre-removal conference presided over by the San Mateo County chief probation officer or an elected County official if the chief probation officer cannot be available.
- At that conference, the sheriff will have an opportunity to respond to the stated reasons for removal and the chief probation officer will then recommend to the Board whether to uphold the intent to remove.
- If the chief probation officer recommends removal, the Board must take a four-fifths vote to continue the process.
- The sheriff would thereafter be entitled to an appeal and to receive a full hearing with sworn testimony in front of a neutral hearing officer who can issue subpoenas, consider evidence and hear live testimony. The hearing would be open to the public unless the sheriff objects in writing. If both sides agree, the hearing will be recorded and released publicly.
- At the end of the appeal hearing, the hearing officer has 45 calendar days to issue a decision which the Board will consider at a public meeting.
- If the Board ultimately decides to move forward with removal, the vote requires a four-fifths majority.
The procedures adopted today largely track those the Board discussed at its April 8 meeting but include some clarifications tied to the evidence at the hearings and designating the chief probation officer to preside over the pre-removal conference.
Michelle Durand
Chief Communications Officer
mdurand@smcgov.org