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Voters approve San Mateo County Proposal A; charter amendment sets removal process for sheriff
Summary
Voters approved Proposal A by an overwhelming majority, triggering a charter amendment that — once certified and approved by the Board of Supervisors — will allow the board to remove the county sheriff for specified causes by a four-of-five vote until Dec. 2028, officials said.
San Mateo County announced that voters approved Proposal A by an “overwhelming majority,” a result county staff said will amend the county charter to allow the Board of Supervisors to pursue removal of the sheriff for specified causes once the election is certified and the board approves the results.
County staff described a multi-step timeline for implementing the measure and emphasized that services provided by the sheriff’s office would continue without interruption during the process. The amendment, staff said, would permit removal from office by a vote of four of the five supervisors for cause until Dec. 2028; staff listed the causes in the measure as violations of laws related to the duties of the office, gross or willful negligence of duties, improper use of public funds, intentional falsification of documents and obstruction of an investigation.
Officials said certification of the election results must be completed within 30 days, and they also said the broader process that follows certification can take as long as 40 days. After the county certifies the results, the Board of Supervisors must approve the election outcome; staff said the charter amendment would take effect 10 days after that approval. County staff told the board they will return to a public meeting to request instructions on the procedures the board will use to carry out a removal hearing.
Before any removal hearing, staff said a written statement of the reasons for removal will be delivered to the sheriff, who will have “a reasonable opportunity,” both in writing and in person before and during the hearing, to offer an explanation or defense. County staff repeated that the county is committed to transparency and to continuing sheriff’s office services throughout the process.
The announcement concluded with a reminder from staff that the process includes multiple administrative steps — certification, board approval and a public hearing procedure — and that staff will present the detailed procedures to the supervisors in a future public meeting.
