San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos, who has more than 40 years of experience, will run Tuesday against challenger Christina Corpus, who has worked in the sheriff's office for 22 years. Both Bolanos are running for sheriff.
Current county sheriff Carlos Bolanos says he is running to continue the work he started in that position, while acknowledging there is still more work to be done.
Their goals include building community relationships, reducing recidivism, building trust, and addressing recruitment and retention challenges within the sheriff's office.
A Bay Area native, Bolanos has worked in law enforcement for more than 40 years, beginning as a patrol officer with the Palo Alto Police Department in 1979.
Since then, he has served as a detective, sergeant, lieutenant, police captain and police chief in Palo Alto, Salinas and Redwood City before becoming deputy sheriff and then sheriff of San Mateo County in 2016.
According to their website, www.bolanosforsheriff.comBolaños believes in the philosophy of community policing.
As Redwood City Police Chief, he initiated the Redwood City Police Activities League program, known as PAL, which provides a variety of cultural activities and programs to promote life skills and personal development in young people.
During his time as San Mateo County Sheriff, the Sheriff's Activities League or SAL, founded in 1997, continued to expand.
Christina Corpus says on her website, www.christinacorpus.com, who is ready to lead the office into the future and is “capable of meeting the challenge of public safety in the 21st century.”
Its goals include hiring more people of color through mentoring programs, reducing recidivism through data-driven programs and preventing practices like turning people over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for minor offenses.
The woman of Latina descent began her career in law enforcement as a social worker in the county district attorney's office in 1995. Since then, she has served as a correctional officer, deputy sheriff, sergeant, lieutenant and captain.
As a sergeant in the sheriff's Professional Standards Bureau, she developed a boot camp for women law enforcement officers to help orient women and prepare them for the physical requirements of law enforcement.
He also said he plans to improve how officers respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis, change the office’s policy regarding the use of Taser stun guns, create a community advisory board to receive input from underserved communities and other stakeholders, as well as ensure that gun permits are not issued for political gain.
You may be interested in: Candidates for San Mateo County Sheriff present proposals in first debate
