At the top of my priority list as your next Sheriff are three guiding principles: transparency, integrity, and stakeholder engagement.

I believe that transparency and integrity should be the foundation of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. I will not be afraid to share our mistakes, as well as our accomplishments, with the communities we serve. Transparency is essential to building trust with our community. By building an honest relationship with the residents of San Mateo County, we can increase trust in law enforcement. I will also support our law enforcement officers with the appropriate training, resources, and assistance in this work.

Integrity is too often used as a pillar for an organization without any substance behind it. As your next Sheriff, I will not be afraid to have difficult conversations with Sheriff’s employees and challenge them to always be true to our oath as law enforcement officers.

I also believe stakeholder and community engagement should be backed up with an investment of time and resources. I will support outreach with multiple, diverse community advisory boards made up of community leaders, business leaders, faith-based leaders, and other stakeholders, where community voices will be heard, and their words will carry weight.

Only through inclusion and collaboration can we as law enforcement officers understand our community, its needs and concerns, and serve effectively to address such issues as criminal justice reform, implicit bias, community engagement, collaboration, mental health, human trafficking, and homelessness.

These are my commitments to everyone in our community as our next Sheriff. Helping to deliver on these promises is making sure that our workforce looks like the community we serve. Early in my career, I was assigned as a deputy to the predominantly Hispanic community of North Fair Oaks, which had been served by primarily white male deputy Sheriffs. I was, in fact, the only female and Latina on my night shift team, which allowed me engage and build trust with large Spanish speaking population and grow the community ties I have with them now. It’s an experience I’ve carried with me throughout my career.

As a Sergeant in the Professional Standards Bureau, I sought and supported other female and law enforcement candidates of color. When I noticed that many women, including those of color, were having difficulty passing the physical requirements to become a law enforcement officer, I developed a Women’s Law Enforcement Boot Camp. This program not only prepared women for the physical requirements of law enforcement, but also expanded into a more supportive, mentoring environment which included the I’Mpossible Running Group for girls in our community and the Women Leaders in Law Enforcement Program.

As Sheriff, I will expand these efforts developing a mentoring program to recruit and hire more people of color to join our organization to better represent the communities we serve. Once hired, candidates will be offered a mentor to support them through their training programs, guide them in their efforts, and develop them as future leaders in the organization.

Furthermore, I find that people of color are underrepresented in our supervisor and manager ranks. Many law enforcement candidates are ready for such leadership roles, but they are too often scored lower using the traditional recruitment process. I will hire outside consultants to update the promotion process and ensure a more balanced approach, so people of color have a fair shot at advancement.

In my daily work as a Sheriff’s Captain, I have been instrumental in creating and managing initiatives meant to instill a sense of compassion, understanding and respect between the community and the Sheriff’s Office. These include:

Neighborhood Watch Program

Coffee with the Captain

Shop with a Cop

Community basketball and soccer games

Deputies reading program

Sheriff’s Activities League

Feeding the homeless

Community Barbeques

Expanded Neighborhood Watch Programs

Women’s Law Enforcement Symposium

Open House Recruitment

Clothing and blanket drives

Youth Law Enforcement Academies

Women’s boot camp and development of Latina female applicants

I’Mpossible Girls Running Group

Pacific Islander Youth Academy

Through continued outreach in our communities, I believe we can foster mutual respect and understanding, and improve the relationship between communities of color and law enforcement over time.

I will work hard to support programs and initiatives founded in principles of community policing which also reduce and prevent incarceration. For decades, our society has focused on quick and easy fixes for many of our problems. As Sheriff, I look forward to being one member of a nationwide approach to addressing systemic racism in our society. I will help build a coalition of community leaders who will work to address the various social, economic, environmental, and other factors which lead to more people of color being incarcerated. This is more than just a law enforcement problem, but as Sheriff, I want to help lead a collaborative, community-wide effort to address these issues. I will seek stakeholder and community support, working with all those dedicated to fairness and justice.

Another area of focus for my administration will be developing effective, evidence-based programs to address recidivism. Current programs in our jails use such words to describe their efforts, but no data is presented to support their success or lack thereof. I will develop, track and report the statistical value of these existing programs so adjustments and new strategies can be implemented, if warranted. In other words, my efforts to address recidivism will not be the minimum necessary to get by on this complicated problem, but a genuine effort with data for stakeholders to review and comment on, plus a long-term commitment to see it through.

As a daughter of immigrants, I understand the complexity of the outdated and broken immigration system in this country. First, I want to be clear that we should not be separating families for minor infractions. Misdemeanors and non-violent crimes are not acceptable reasons to make children suffer by deporting one or both parents; the damages from this can be life-long, and this practice needs to stop.

The current Sheriff, who cooperates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a routine basis, needs to put an end to any casual hand-overs of individuals to ICE at the sally port and within our correctional facilities. ICE should not be hanging out around the jail. If the current Sheriff is unaware that this is happening, he should investigate it immediately. I take the allegations coming from the community seriously and, if elected, I would stop these practices immediately.

As Sheriff, I believe in taking a compassionate, thoughtful approach, reviewing immigration requests on a case-by-case basis. Any cooperation to turn over anyone to ICE would require the individual to pose a clear and imminent threat to our community’s safety. ICE would not be allowed in our correctional facilities, and only those few names of individuals who pose the greatest threat would be provided to ICE. In reviewing the past turnovers to ICE, I would not have turned any of those individuals over to ICE.

I would also establish a Sheriff’s Office Community Advisory Board (SOCAB). Embracing inclusion, diversity, equity, stakeholder input, and representation from our underserved communities, this Board will be made up of members from each of the three regions of San Mateo County — North County, South County, and the Coast — and include diverse community stakeholders, legal experts and immigration advocates.

Finally, all ICE referral data will be maintained and reported in a transparent manner quarterly, with every case update on a transparency page of the Sheriff’s Office website for the public to review. Transparency is one of my core values, and I would have publicly released the Axon log records in the Sandra Harmon case if I was Sheriff.

As Sheriff, I will promote programs to safeguard and provide appropriate care for non-violent individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. We will utilize mental health clinicians, supported by specially trained deputies, to respond to calls for service involving individuals in a mental health crisis, and determine the best course of action.

I will champion a mental health model that is like the Cahoots Program in Oregon. Our deputies would respond to only those calls where the individual is determined to be a threat to others. Upon arrival, they will employ de-escalation techniques, secure the scene, and then turn the call over to mental health clinicians to determine the best course of action. Our goal is to provide an appropriate response with compassion, an emphasis on de-escalation, and find the best outcome for the safety of the individual in the crisis.

I would also set up Project Guardian, the Autism Registry Program developed in Newport News, VA and later expanded in Harris County, TX (Houston), for a free, secured voluntary registry for any resident to upload information about their loved one. There have been too many incidents where law enforcement officers mistake an autistic individual as combative due to their condition. Sometimes, these individuals can be triggered by the police response. For instance, flashing lights on an emergency vehicle and loud noises may cause a person with autism to become frightened, confused, and have difficulty following instructions, thus appearing to officers to be resistive. Officers may not understand why some individuals with autism will not make eye contact with them, keep their fists clenched, flap their hands, or they may confuse the person as intoxicated or under the influence of a narcotic.

I’ve spoken with mothers who are afraid to let their adult children walk out the front door for fear that they may have a negative interaction and be accidentally harmed by police. As a mother myself, I know we need to do better and, if I’m elected Sheriff, we will. In addition to identifying these members of our community in advance, Project Guardian educates and teaches about the common characteristics of autism, providing law enforcement officers with strategies, skills, and knowledge to comfort, communicate and secure the safety of individuals on the autistic spectrum.

As Sheriff, I will expand current efforts to improve follow-up investigations and develop a program for real-time care and support for those experiencing a mental health crisis. With the help of our mental health professionals, deputies, and those eager to support law enforcement’s efforts to serve those in crisis, such as John Hopkins University, we will be able to develop timely, effective and meaningful support to those in need.

All too often, in law enforcement, we are looking for the next technology or device to address combative individuals effectively. The development and distribution of tasers is a good example of this. Tasers were promoted as an effective and safe way to overcome resistive individuals while reducing injuries to suspects and officers. This is primarily true, but there have also been several taser-related deaths. Sadly, this demonstrates that our profession focuses more on intermediate weapons rather than our officers’ training and skills.

As Sheriff, I would implement several changes to the Use of Force Policy regarding tasers. First, only one intentional and successful deployment of tasers will be allowed against a combative subject. After that, tasers can only be redeployed to overcome resistance likely to cause great bodily injury or death to the deputy or another person.

The current Sheriff has not been an effective leader regarding Use of Force options. In 2018, I presented an alternative less-than-lethal use of force option to the Sheriff: the BolaWrap. It took over two years for this option to be implemented into a test phase, where it remains today. In fact, the current administration has a reactive history of Use of Force tactics, principles, and policies. It was not until several tragic Use of Force incidents, which led social justice activists to call for policing reform, that the Sheriff finally reacted and implemented any changes to his Use of Force policies.

As your Sheriff, I will always seek better and more effective ways to overcome resistive subjects and not just rely on intermediate weapons or react to crises as they arise. I will focus on the deputies’ training and skills to develop more confident and calm law enforcement officers. Our current Sheriff does not invest enough in our personnel’s abilities, but instead focuses on expensive tools, limited CIT training, and blanket policies. I believe that there needs to be an equitable balance of investment in technology and our deputies.

I will commit our Office to providing the continued necessary training on Use of Force options concentrating on verbal de-escalation, followed by controlling subjects in the least intrusive way before implementing any intermediate weapons. Controlling subjects prior to using intermediate weapons is a substantial effort, focusing both on developing officers’ abilities, such as leverage and weight controlling methods, physical fitness and mental health programs. Investing in continual training, on-duty fitness programs and the development of more effective shifts will take a lot of managerial effort and commitment, which our current Sheriff lacks.

Over time, I will develop a Sheriff’s Office full of confident deputies who will use respectful language and appropriate responses to handle all incidents and avoid the community’s perception of improper Use of Force by law enforcement. We must develop a culture in our organization where the community trusts and respects our efforts rather than doubting us. However, the burden is on us as an organization and profession to take these first steps.

The current Sheriff’s method of issuing carrying concealed weapons permits (CCW) is viewed by many as a pay-to-play system where permits are mostly issued as political payback for support and contributions. As your new Sheriff, this practice will end! I will never issue a concealed weapons permit for political gain. Instead, the following concealed weapons permit policies and procedures will be implemented.

I would immediately collaborate with other law enforcement leaders in San Mateo County, especially Chiefs of Police, to determine permit policies and practices, including establishing good cause to issue a CCW. Carrying a concealed weapon is a great responsibility, and it should be approved by more than just one law enforcement officer. While the final CCW decisions will remain with the Sheriff’s Office, the new system will be fair and avoid any pay-to-play program like we’ve seen for FOS (Friends Of the Sheriff) members.

In addition to establishing a CCW Advisory Board made up of myself and local Chiefs of Police, issuance of CCW will be public information. Applicant names and other identifying information will remain confidential, but the number of permits issued, denied, or withdrawn will be reported and shared with the public.

Transparency, like so many issues in law enforcement, is key to CCW permits. Each Chief of Police knows their communities better than most, and they will have a voice in the process. Decisions will be made by a committee versus any individual, and every citizen who inquires will know how many CCW permits are in each area and why they were issued or denied. They will be able to view CCW training, proficiency standards, policies and procedures at any time.

All residents, and only residents of San Mateo County, may apply for a CCW permit. If issued a CCW, the applicant will have to meet a specific set of training requirements, demonstrate a high level of proficiency and adhere to a code of conduct required to maintain a CCW permit. The new CCW system will be fairer, more public and safer than what we have now.

How do we move our Sheriff’s Office in a new direction on all of these fronts? It’s why I’m running, why I need your support to win, and why I support public oversight which is consistent with our community’s values. I’ve already begun speaking with community leaders across San Mateo County about the form and function that such oversight could take. A variety of models are being discussed, and I do want to stress that I believe this should be a public process, hearing from as many people in the community as possible before we decide on what oversight model works best locally.

Immediately, though, one of my priorities is to implement my idea of the Sheriff’s Office Community Advisory Boards (SOCAB), representing South County, North County, and the Coast, with a commitment to having diverse members on each board. I will meet with these three boards quarterly to discuss issues that arise in their specific communities. This will also allow me to hear directly from community members on our performance. Currently, the Sheriff charges a fee to be on the Sheriff’s Advisory Board and I do not believe an elected official should require anyone to pay a fee for their voice to be heard.

Additionally, a new law, the Racial Identity and Profiling Act, requires law enforcement to collect identifying data on persons stopped and searched. The current administration intends to meet this reporting requirement on the deadline provided by the state, which is April 1, 2023. As Sheriff, I will take a proactive approach and not wait for deadlines. Based on our size, the Sheriff’s Office is required to begin collecting RIPA data January 1, 2022, with our first round of annual reports due on April 1, 2023; however, our intention is to begin reporting to the State of California concurrent with our collection. It is important to provide this data sooner than later, since it will help us gauge how our Office is doing, identify any implicit biases, and address these issues more effectively.

As Sheriff, I would seek truly independent outside investigations when appropriate. For example, having someone within the Sheriff’s Offcie conduct and investigation into one of our employees for theft from the Sheriff’s Activities League, even as a 501c3, would present a conflict of interest. I would have requested the Attorney General conduct the entire investigation and, if needed, have an outside investigator assist the Attorney General’s Office with the investigation. I would ensure the process was transparent and would advise our board members and community of the initial investigation.

My plan as Sheriff is to be engaged with the communities we serve, listen to issues that arise and address them transparently with the community. I want to help lead this change in local policing, where San Mateo County can again be a beacon to the world for the best innovations and services, this time in public safety.