OAKLAND, California. – With the almost irreversible advantage in the electoral results, Yesenia Sánchez and Christina Corpus are on their way to becoming not only sheriffs of Alameda and San Mateo counties, respectively, but also the first Latina women to hold the position in California history. .
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Until this Thursday, Sánchez, who currently works as a commander in the Sheriff’s office and is in charge of supervising the Santa Rita jail, led the race with 52.84% of the votes against 31.24% of Greg Ahern, his boss. and current Alameda County Sheriff. Ahern issued a statement Wednesday afternoon conceding the victory to Sánchez.
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“Alameda County voters have spoken. They longed for a sheriff who would bring reform, transparency and accountability to the department. I heard those calls loud and clear. As the next sheriff, I know a great responsibility has been entrusted to her and I will make our county proud to have chosen me,” Sánchez said in a statement quoted by The Mercury News.
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Christina Corpus, meanwhile, holds a comfortable nearly 13-point lead over current San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolaños. The uniformed woman currently holds the position of chief of the Millbrae Police, after she was not considered for the position of deputy sheriff despite being better qualified, she assures her.
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“It takes a lot of courage to achieve what we achieved. It’s very difficult when you’re against the machinery and when you’re going against the status quo,” Corpus said in an interview with The Mercury News.
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For the police chief, sharing the achievement with another Latina woman is something that fills her with joy. “I am honored to share this seat and this title with her,” she said, adding that the election results mean a lot to Latina women, “that we are a force to be reckoned with and that we have achieved the unimaginable.”
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The Bay Area remains progressive
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The victories of the two Latina women come at a time when it has become clear that the Bay Area is seeking to reform justice systems, contradicting the narrative that voters in the region are seeking a heavy-handed and less progressive attitude. against crime, which had been promoted since the removal of Chesa Boudin as San Francisco prosecutor.
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“Before the election we knew that voters were worried about crime,” Will Matthews, a spokesman for Californians for Safety and Justice, an organization that supports justice reform, told The Mercury News, adding that the results in Sheriff races in the Bay Area show that voters continue to support progressive candidates.
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“Voters no longer believe that the failed strategies of yesteryear are part of the solution,” he said.
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In addition to San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa county prosecutors were also up for grabs, and support for candidates seeking to reform the justice system was also evident in the races.
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In Contra Costa, incumbent District Attorney Diana Becton had no trouble keeping her job and winning the polls over a more conservative attorney who works out of her own office, while in Alameda civil rights attorney Pamela Prices He finished in the lead in the vote count and everything indicates that the contest will be decided in the second round of the next November elections.
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Political analysts told The Mercury News that the victories of Sánchez and Corpus had great support in time and money from local Democratic organizations, as well as labor unions and other progressive groups that supported with volunteers to hold call banks.
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