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In a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 17, addressing a vote of no confidence against San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle, union representatives said they took this vote against Aenlle because he “(rules) through intimidation,” union busting and has cultivated a working environment where Sheriff’s Office staff “fear retaliation.”
The unions alleged that Sheriff’s Office administration engaged in unfair labor practices such as imposing a policy that required deputies to work 24 hours of overtime each pay period.
“Today we gather in a time of deep uncertainty — our office is gripped by an atmosphere of unease and retaliation, largely due to the conduct of Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle,” said DSA Board President Carlos Tapia at the press conference. “His behavior toward employees has been nothing short of reprehensible, leading to emotional distress among both sworn officers and civilian staff.”
The unions, the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants, took a vote of no confidence against the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle on Sept. 11, with 96% of members approving the vote.
“The vote came about after extensively documented misbehavior and misdeeds by Aenlle, including overstepping his role as civilian chief of staff and interfering with protected union activities,” wrote the DSA and OSS boards in a press release. “In addition, Aenlle (along with the Sheriff’s Office administration) were named in two (California Public Employment Relations Board) PERB complaints.”
The PERB is a quasi-judicial state agency that has the authority to hold a hearing on the charges and, depending on the outcome, order the Sheriff’s Office to pay financial remedies to employees, including back pay and front pay.
Sheriff Christina Corpus responded to the union’s remarks and vote of no confidence in a statement on Sept. 12, calling the vote of no confidence “political theater” and stating that she refused to consider removing Aenlle from his position. She alleged in the statement that “special interests” are seeking to undermine her leadership and “bully” her with a vote of no confidence against Aenlle.
“Let me make it crystal clear: no one will intimidate me into making personnel changes,” Corpus said in the Sept. 12 statement. “This vote is nothing more than a political stunt led by a few insiders seeking to divide this office. It has no legal bearing and changes nothing. I appointed my chief of staff and he will remain in that position.”
Following the press conference, Gretchen Spiker, director of communications for the Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a statement that Corpus’ position has not changed since her Sept. 12 statement. “She will not be intimidated into making personnel changes.”
Spiker said that Corpus has received support from elected officials and community leaders including Half Moon Bay Mayor Joaquin Jimenez and San Bruno City Council members Tom Hamilton and Marty Medina.
Tapia said that the unions have traditionally had a good working relationship with the Sheriff’s Office, and that this is the first time a vote of no confidence, or anything like it, has been undertaken by the DSA and OSS.
Tapia also said that Sheriff Corpus has been actively downplaying the allegations that have been brought to her about Aenlle’s conduct.
“The sheriff had a choice, and instead of launching a thorough investigation or taking appropriate action, she chose to dismiss our concerns,” he said. “She has accused us of being a small, disruptive group, and even gone as far as alleging we are engaging in character assassination. … The situation cannot continue.”
Who is Aenlle?
Before being hired as the Sheriff’s Office chief of staff, Aenlle, who currently makes between $197,592 and $246,927 according to the county pay schedule, worked on Corpus’ campaign during the 2022 election.
“Mr. Aenlle worked on Sheriff Corpus’s campaign and turned chief of staff for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s (Office), a position which never existed previously,” said Sean Currin, a lawyer at Mastagni Holstedt helping to represent the DSA and OSS in their complaints to the the PERB. “As the newly crowned chief of staff, Aenlle has now inserted himself into just about every facet of the Sheriff’s Department.”
At the press conference, representatives from the unions alleged that Aenlle had engaged in anti-union activities and violations of labor laws that have only added to the staffing challenges that the Sheriff’s Office already faces.
“It’s a violation of labor laws at a time when the Sheriff’s Office faces challenges similar to other law enforcement agencies,” said Tapia. “Victor Aenlle represents a problem that is unique. … His behavior is actively harming this agency.”
Currin said that the PERB complaints against the Sheriff’s Office and Aenlle allege that the Sheriff’s Office administration engaged in unfair labor practices by failing to meet and confer with the unions in good faith. They also imposed a policy that requires deputies to work 24 hours of overtime each pay period, by changing the maximum staffing numbers in county jails without consulting the unions, according to Currin.
Hector Acosta, president of the OSS board, said that these changes to staffing in County jail, which require deputies to spend additional time in the correctional facility, has led to a decrease in the number of deputies who are able to patrol the streets.
“What the public doesn’t realize is their safety is being compromised as we struggle to fill patrol spots because deputies are required to work 24 hours of overtime every two weeks, with 18 of those hours being in the jail,” he said. “The jails absolutely need to be safe for inmates and staff alike, but the general public also deserves to be safe.”
Union complaints about Aenlle also allege that he is misrepresenting his position as a civilian employee of the county by wearing a deputy’s uniform and a badge that says “Chief of Staff.”
“Some of the statements that (Aenlle) made say he is a level one reserve (deputy), which is true, but he’s no longer employed as a level one reserve,” said Tapia. “His position here at the county is a civilian position. In fact, if you look at the organizational chart, he’s listed as a civilian in charge of the civilian staff.”
Tapia said that Aenlle has even been seen carrying a gun while wearing a badge at public events. Tapia says that he doesn’t know whether the gun was issued to Aenlle by the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to this news organization’s inquiry about whether the Sheriff’s Office issued the gun to Aenlle.
Aenlle is pictured in a San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Instagram reel wearing a badge and gun.
This news organization reached out to Aenlle for comment on the allegations made at the press conference, but we have not yet received a response.
The Board of Supervisors responds
Though the unions’ vote of no confidence holds no legal weight over Corpus and her staffing decisions, the vote seemed to spur the County’s Board of Supervisors to address the allegations coming from the Sheriff’s Office.
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors announced on Sept. 12 that it would be launching an investigation into allegations against personnel at the Sheriff’s Office. The board hired former Judge LaDoris Cordell, a former superior court judge and Independent Police Auditor for the city of San Jose, to investigate the “numerous complaints” brought forth by Sheriff’s Office employees.
This investigation is separate from the unfair labor practice complaints that the unions filed with PERB.
San Mateo County supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller were appointed by the board to serve as spokespeople on the issue.
“We take these allegations seriously,” said the statement from the board. “We want to ensure an impartial investigation and assessment of these allegations, to afford all parties fairness and due process.”
The statement from the Board of Supervisors said that they “expect the ongoing investigation to be completed soon.”
John Nibbelin, the county attorney for San Mateo County said that the county cannot provide an exact timeline for the completion of the independent investigation.
“We expect that the judge will take the time she needs to do a thorough job,” he said. “I do not know whether the report or any portion of it will be released to the public.”
Board of Supervisors Vice President David Canepa, who spoke at Tuesday’s press conference alongside the unions, said that he would not address Cordell’s investigation of the matter, but believes that San Mateo County “needs a Sheriff that we can trust.”
“Trust only emanates from our employees,” said Canepa. “I can’t stand idle and see our employees being treated the way they’re being treated.”
Canepa said that he wants Corpus to take the allegations and issues in her office seriously, and to sit down with the unions to fix them.
“What the sheriff is doing now is not working,” he said. “My ask today for Sheriff Corpus is to have a concrete conversation, and whether that means locking them up in a room for hours upon hours, to really figure out these problems.”
Corzo was also in attendance at the press conference.
Fixin’ San Mateo County, a community organization dedicated to independent civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Office, released a statement Wednesday applauding the board’s decision to investigate the dispute between the Sheriff’s Office and the unions. It also called for the installation of a permanent inspector general to provide oversight and ensure law enforcement accountability.
The Board of Supervisors approved the formation of a civilian advisory board to oversee the Sheriff’s Office in December 2023, though did not hire an inspector general.
An ‘atmosphere of unease and retaliation’
In addition to his role in the unfair labor practice charges that were filed with PERB, union representatives say that Aenlle’s actions have contributed to a “toxic work environment” where many are afraid of retaliation for voicing their opinions.
“(Aenlle’s) inappropriate and outsized influence over the command staff has left many too afraid to speak out,” said Tapia.
Acosta said that many members of the OSS Board “now fear retaliation.”
Julie Lind, Executive Officer of the San Mateo County Central Labor Council, shared the stories of multiple Sheriff’s Office employees who came to her and asked that their stories be shared anonymously for fear of retaliation.
“Several Sheriff’s Office employees witnessed emotional distress after Chief of Staff Aenlle berated a former employee shortly before their last day of work, accusing the employee of making derogatory and slanderous comments online,” said Lind. “The claim for which has no basis.”
She also said that employees of all ranks reported being transferred or threatened with transfer from special assignments. “Some for no apparent reason, and some for expressing ideas or opinions that ran contrary to that of the Sheriff, Undersheriff or Chief of Staff.”
According to Lind, several high ranking employees had left the Sheriff’s Office before qualifying for retirement, which was “an unprecedented action.” She said that the loss of institutional knowledge from these early departures “are detrimental to the Sheriff’s Office and may have been avoided had some of these leadership challenges been addressed.”
It’s not the first time that sheriff’s deputies have complained about Corpus and Aenlle. David Wozniak, a former sheriff’s deputy and president of the DSA, sued Corpus and Aenlle earlier this year for allegedly demoting him in retaliation for refusing to endorse Corpus during her campaign for sheriff.
Undersheriff Chris Hsiung departed the Sheriff’s Office in June of this year.
Tapia said that the departure of Hsiung had nothing to do with the allegations against Aenlle or the unions’ other issues with Sheriff’s Office administration, but that Hsiung was someone that the unions could talk to. “He gave us a seat at the table. He understood the process of meet and confer and he was reasonable.”
Currin said that Aenlle uses employees’ fears of retaliation to ensure compliance.
“I find it difficult to advise an aggrieved (Sheriff’s Office) employee,” said Currin. “They should come forward, but at the same time I cannot ensure they will not be retaliated against. Most employees are not willing to risk their livelihood and ability to provide for their families. It seems Mr. Aenlle preys upon these legitimate fears to intimidate workers into compliance.”
Following the press conference, Spiker wrote that Corpus is “a fierce advocate for Sheriff’s Office employees,” and that she has recruited 110 employees and reduced the vacancy rate from 25% to 15% since taking office.
“Sheriff Corpus has implemented extensive wellness programs to improve the well-being of employees, with more initiatives on the way,” wrote Spiker.
Canepa said that the county will not tolerate any form of retribution against employees at the Sheriff’s Office that speak out.
“To come up here and speak takes a lot of courage,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, any form of retribution against these employees or other employees that speak out is not tolerated.”
Tapia said that he wants to be clear that the press conference “is not against Sheriff Corpus,” but that he hopes the sheriff will take this opportunity to listen to her employees, come back to the negotiating table with the unions and address the allegations against Aenlle.
“We want the sheriff to come back to the table,” he said. “We have to take care of the mandatory overtime policy. … We want her to hear us and say ‘hey, there’s a problem.’ It’s not just us talking about it. Your membership is talking about it, your employees are talking about it. There’s a problem with Victor Aenlle, and we’re asking her to take care of it.”
I strongly urge the Sheriff to sit down with the union members and work on this problem. Personally I have found Sheriff Corpus to be aloof, demanding and determined to get her way. I did not vote for her and I would never vote for her.
I strongly urge the Sheriff to sit down with the union members and work on this problem. Personally I have found Sheriff Corpus to be aloof, demanding and determined to get her way. I did not vote for her and I would never vote for her.
Joanne Engelhardt, Redwood City