Public commenters urge Millbrae council not to take up no-confidence vote against San Mateo County sheriff; vice mayor says he requested it be scheduled

During public comments at the Jan. 14 Millbrae City Council meeting, several residents urged the council not to involve itself in a campaign for a vote of no confidence in San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus and to concentrate on local matters.

Jeff Steinberg, who said he runs a civil-rights educational program that has worked with San Mateo County sheriff’s personnel, said he had “never heard a racial comment” from Sheriff Corpus and urged the council not to act on a no-confidence measure. Gina Miranda and Patricia Lam urged the council to remain focused on local priorities such as flooding, infrastructure and east-side investments. Stella Lau and Nhan Hua Chen also asked that the city refrain from passing measures addressing county-level personnel matters and leave such deliberations to county processes and voters.

At the end of the meeting during council comments, Vice Mayor Hollebrand announced that he had submitted a request to place a resolution of no confidence in Sheriff Corpus on an upcoming council agenda and asked for it to be considered by the body. Several public speakers had earlier asked the council not to take that step.

Why it matters: Speakers framed the question as whether a city council should intercede in county personnel controversies, arguing that limited city resources should be devoted to local public-safety priorities such as infrastructure, flood and fire preparedness and local policing matters.

No vote on a no-confidence resolution occurred at the Jan. 14 meeting.