Barely three weeks ago, Ken Binder was one of a dozen applicants vying to lead San Mateo County’s top law enforcement agency. After a year-long, bruising showdown between the Board of Supervisors and former Sheriff Christina Corpus — who was removed last month — he now steps into a department scarred by controversy, hoping to steer it toward calmer ground.

His new suite on the top floor of the Sheriff’s Office in Redwood City offers sweeping views of the Bay. For an agency that has filled local papers with headlines for more than a year, the quiet was striking when this news organization met him one week into the job.

“On my first day, I had a management meeting with all my captains that lasted about four hours. I was briefed on a lot of things we can do to make positive changes around t

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