San Mateo County taxpayers have paid roughly $13 million in Sheriff's Office lawsuit settlements and face another $48 million in pending claims, according to Jim Lawrence, chair of advocacy group Fixin San Mateo County and a former mayor of Foster City.

He's now demanding every county supervisor and supervisor candidate commit to creating a permanent, independent Inspector General before November.

Lawrence laid out the case in a guest opinion published Saturday, July 25, in the Almanac News. The combined $61 million-plus in paid and pending litigation costs has not been independently confirmed through county records, but Lawrence argued the figures show the county's lack of oversight is already more expensive than hiring a watchdog would be.

"How can the Board of Supervisors argue that it cannot afford independent oversight while taxpayers are already paying millions of dollars in settlements, litigation, investigations and legal costs?" Lawrence wrote.

Lawrence says Mueller questions cost

According to Lawrence's op-ed, Supervisor Ray Mueller has questioned whether a full-time Inspector General would be worth the expense. Mueller led the board's push to remove former Sheriff Christina Corpus on October 14, 2025, the first time in California history an elected board voted to oust an elected sheriff, according to KQED. Mueller's office has not publicly responded to Lawrence's characterization.

Lawrence framed the oversight question as a litmus test for the November election, calling on voters to ask every supervisor candidate a yes-or-no question: Will you vote to establish a permanent, independent Inspector General for the Sheriff's Office?

California's AB 1185, in effect since January 2021, allows any county board of supervisors to establish a civilian oversight board and appoint an Inspector General with independent subpoena power. Seven California counties have done so, Lawrence noted, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Marin.

Lawrence noted the push comes amid a county budget gap, with supervisors having floated a possible sales tax increase. That context, he argued, makes the cost-of-oversight objection harder to sustain.

Ombudsperson vs. Inspector General

Sheriff Ken Binder, appointed by a 4-1 board vote on November 12, 2025, has proposed an ombudsperson to handle jail complaints. Lawrence contends that role falls short because it does not cover systemic issues across the entire Sheriff's Office, such as management practices, use of public funds, and patterns of misconduct.

An Inspector General established under AB 1185 could examine those broader concerns and recommend corrective action before problems escalate into lawsuits, Lawrence wrote.

Fixin San Mateo County has pushed for AB 1185 oversight since at least November 2025, when the group urged supervisors to pair Binder's appointment with an independent oversight mechanism.

No date has been scheduled for the Board of Supervisors to take up the Inspector General proposal. Lawrence's op-ed asks voters to demand a commitment from candidates before they cast ballots in November.