Sheriff

Laurie Smith was elected Sheriff of Santa Clara County, California, in a landslide on 3 November 1998 and took office on 15 December 1998, becoming the first woman elected county sheriff in California history. She served as the 28th sheriff of Santa Clara County until her early retirement in October 2022 — a tenure of nearly twenty-four years across six elected terms.

Background

Smith joined the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office in 1973 as a jail matron at the county jail, a starting position that at the time was the highest sworn role open to women in the department. She worked through the ranks — patrol, narcotics, and command positions — over a 25-year career before her 1998 election.

Santa Clara County, encompassing Silicon Valley and the city of San Jose, was one of California's largest counties at the time of her election, with a sheriff's office of approximately 1,700 sworn and civilian personnel. Smith's election was decisive: she won the open-seat race with a clear majority and was returned to office in five subsequent elections (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018).

End of tenure

Smith's final years in office were dominated by a civil grand jury investigation into the issuance of concealed-carry weapon permits by her department. A 2022 civil trial concluded with a verdict that she had committed perjury and corruption-related offences; she retired before the formal removal proceeding completed. Her successor, Robert Jonsen, took office in January 2023.

Sources

• Laurie Smith (sheriff) — Wikipedia)
• KQED — San Mateo County Supervisors Take Historic Vote to Remove Sheriff