Exactly a year after San Mateo County released a scathing report accusing former Sheriff Christina Corpus of misconduct and abuse of power — and following her ouster last month — supervisors on Wednesday voted 4-1 to appoint former Santa Clara County Undersheriff Ken Binder as the county’s new top law enforcement officer.
County supervisors cited Binder’s experience in neighboring Santa Clara County — which shares a similar economic, geographic, and administrative profile with San Mateo County — as a key reason for their choice.
Supervisor Noelia Corzo, who called for Corpus’ resignation a year ago and was once an ally, said she looks forward to turning the page on the yearlong saga.
“This process has not been an easy one,” Corzo said, addressing the press after Binder’s appointment. “Every step forward has been coupled with difficult decisions and controversy, but we held firm in knowing that we could lead our community out of this — and that’s what we’ve done.”
Wednesday’s decision comes on the one-year anniversary of the release of a county-commissioned report by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, which first made public allegations of conflict of interest, retaliation, and misconduct by Corpus.
The day the report was released, Deputy Sheriffs’ Association President Carlos Tapia was arrested on suspicion of timecard fraud — an action union leaders said was retaliatory for his criticism of Corpus. While prosecutors declined to file criminal charges, he remains on administrative leave. Binder said Wednesday he would like to see Tapia return to work.
Corpus has denied all allegations against her, including claims that Tapia’s arrest was retaliatory, and she continues to appeal her removal, arguing that it violated her rights and due process.
Her ouster followed a voter-approved charter amendment giving supervisors the authority to remove a sheriff for cause by a four-fifths vote through 2028, paving the way for the board to appoint a replacement.
The report triggered a protracted and costly fight, with the county disclosing more than $4.6 million in spending so far to remove her.
Only David Canepa dissented on Binder’s appointment, expressing a preference for David Lazar, a retired San Francisco police assistant chief. The third finalist was Brian Wynn Huynh Travis, chief of police and director of public safety at Solano Community College.
Binder will serve until January 2029, when the next elected sheriff takes office. He was sworn in Wednesday night at the County Center in Redwood City.
Speaking to reporters after his appointment, Binder said his top priority is to “stabilize the organization.”
“I need to assemble an upper executive management team that has the trust of the organization and the community — I’m prepared to do that,” he said.
While the fight to remove Corpus took a year, selecting her replacement moved at lightning speed. Applications closed on Nov. 5, followed by supervisor interviews last Thursday and a public forum Monday — a roughly weeklong process, after supervisors voted last month to forego a lengthy and costly special election.
Taking over a department rocked by back-to-back scandals, Binder said he would support recommendations from the county’s civilian oversight commission for reform and work with community groups such as Fixin’ San Mateo County, which has long advocated for an independent inspector general.
“I’m going to work with the Independent Civilian Advisory Commission on the Sheriff’s Office to see what improvements we can make moving forward,” he said.
Nancy Goodban, executive director of the civilian oversight group Fixin’ San Mateo County and speaking in a personal capacity, said she hopes the new sheriff will address “deaths in jail, religious services, undelivered mail” and other longstanding issues in the county’s correctional facilities.
Formerly interim police chief in Gilroy, Binder spent most of his 27-year law enforcement career with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, including a brief stint as acting sheriff in 2022 after former Sheriff Laurie Smith resigned amid a civil corruption trial over concealed carry weapons permits.
During Wednesday’s final question-and-answer session, Canepa raised concerns about in-custody deaths in Santa Clara County, noting similar issues in San Mateo County. Santa Clara County reported at least seven deaths last year, compared with five in San Mateo County. He also cited the 2015 beating death of mentally ill inmate Michael Tyree by three jail guards.
Binder, then an assistant sheriff, said the deputies were arrested immediately.
“It was absolutely unacceptable,” Binder said. “We worked really hard to investigate immediately — all three deputies were under arrest within a week.”
Canepa also asked why Binder did not step down during the investigation into Smith’s administration. Binder said Smith never asked him to engage in unethical behavior.
“The things she had done behind closed doors were not out in the open,” Binder said. “We were running operations on a day-to-day basis.”
During last week’s public forum, Binder described his time as acting sheriff as a stabilizing period when he briefly led the department following Smith’s resignation.
“I had a level of respect there where I was able to provide stability to the organization,” Binder said. “When we had issues, I worked directly with the unions to move the agency forward.”
At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, Canepa said that while he did not vote for Binder, he expressed support for him and urged him to address jail violence and other issues at the sheriff’s facilities.
Meanwhile, the county’s two sheriffs unions were split on endorsements.
On Tuesday, the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association (DSA) chose not to endorse any candidate, while the Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants (OSS) voiced support for Binder during Wednesday’s meeting.
Lt. Jonathan Sebring, speaking for the OSS, said Binder has a “proven track record of leading an organization through difficult times, including the leadership crisis and rebuilding community trust.”
Although the DSA did not endorse a candidate, it said Wednesday it looks forward to “working collaboratively with him as we begin rebuilding the agency.”
