Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, December 19, 2024…
- San Mateo County leaders will soon be asking voters to remove their embattled sheriff from office. It’s likely an unprecedented move.
- Amazon workers across Southern California are joining a nationwide strike Thursday, just days before Christmas, as the Teamsters argue the company is denying their right to unionize.
- Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency to aid California’s response to the bird flu outbreak. The governor says recent cases were detected in cows at four Southern California dairies, meaning the virus has spread from the Central Valley.
California Sheriffs Are Rarely Removed From Office. San Mateo Is Trying Anyway
San Mateo County supervisors are attempting a historic feat in the state: removing an elected sheriff via charter amendment and a simultaneous recall vote.
It’s unclear whether both have been levied against a California sheriff before, but removing a county’s top law enforcement officer has rarely been successful.
County supervisors are asking voters in March to give them the temporary authority to remove Sheriff Christina Corpus two years into her first term after “unprecedented complaints.” An independent investigation found the hallmarks of her administration weren’t the transparency and accountability she promised voters, but rather “lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority.” Corpus has remained steadfast that she would not step down, despite mounting calls for her to resign from state and federal lawmakers, so county officials are taking a two-pronged approach to remove her before she’s up for re-election in 2028.
Sheriffs across the country have largely been spared the wrath of a recall, namely because those campaigns have failed before making it to the ballot or, in some cases, the sheriff resigns before a vote.
Amazon Workers Set To Strike Thursday
Amazon workers across Southern California are joining a nationwide strike, a week before Christmas, as the Teamsters argue the company is denying their right to unionize.