Santa Clara County’s Board of Supervisors took its conflict with the sheriff even further on Tuesday.
For the first time ever, each of the five members of the board took the step of publicly saying they have no faith in the leadership of the sitting sheriff, according to reporting by KTVU.
"There is a parade of horribles that has been marching, marching, marching. And we have to call it out and say, put an end to this," said Supervisor Joe Simitian of District 5.
He and co-sponsor Susan Ellenberg have cited several issues in the office over the last few years under the leadership of the six-term incumbent sheriff. High profile incidents include a jail beating death, permanent injuries of an inmate while being transported in the back of a sheriff’s vehicle, and the sheriff’s continued refusal to cooperate with a criminal grand jury investigation into allegations of bribery within her office.
"I think three of you know what’s happening in the real world the others want to place blame for a problem they are not addressing," said Smith during a 10 minute-plus response to the board.
The sheriff blamed a mental health crisis for creating an imbalance in jails.
"I’m a law enforcement officer not a trained psychiatrist. Our staff does an exceptional job, not only in the jail but on the streets," said Smith.
The sheriff asked the board to take the hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for the construction of a new jail, and to spend that money to build a state-of-the-art psychiatric hospital.
The sheriff’s ouster could come by ballot, but it’s unclear if there’s support for another recall election.
The sheriff’s term ends next year.
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