San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus perhaps saw her adamant appeals and denials as no-lose this year as county leaders sought to oust her, because now she appears to be retiring with her full pension and benefits.

A few hours after a special meeting Tuesday in which the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to remove her from office, former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus announced her retirement, in what appears to be a legitimately legal move on her part.

After refusing calls to step down that date back nearly a year, Corpus has arguably cost San Mateo County many millions of dollars, following a special election in March that alone cost $2.5 million, and an untold sum spent on attorneys for both sides. But after serving the county for 30 years, she is entitled to her full pension and benefits upon retiring, county leaders say — even though this retirement was technically announced after she was fired "effective immediately."

When asked about this last-ditch move by Corpus, county Board of Supervisors President Dave Canepa tells KTVU, "No, we're not going to fight her on it. But this is something that's kind of new to me. I'll be quite frank with you. I was not aware. I thought that once we had taken action that was it. That being said, I ended up finding out earlier in the day that she is allowed to retire."

Canepa added, "We don't want to be discriminatory to the sheriff. And so, she's entitled to her retirement pay and benefits."

That pay is reportedly equivalent to 90% of her salary, plus benefits.

Undersheriff Dan Perea has taken over as interim sheriff, but Canepa tells KTVU he hopes that a special election can be held as soon as possible to vote in Corpus's replacement. The next scheduled election date is not until June, and Canepa says that is too long to wait.

Corpus's removal marks the first time in state history that a sheriff has been removed in this way. This followed a ballot measure in March in which voters overwhelmingly approved the removal process, which included a charter amendment making it possible.

That process allowed for Corpus to contest her removal at an administrative hearing, which took place over two weeks in August, and at which 36 witnesses were called. A retired judge then produced a 42-page report, released last week, which found ample cause for removing Corpus from office. These reasons included her alleged, semi-secret, extramarital, multi-year romantic entanglement with a man she made her second-in-command, Victor Aenlle, which she and Aenlle continue to deny. And the judge found she'd behaved in a retaliatory manner toward a deputy who is president of the deputies' union, following the release of an audit of her conduct in which he was a participating witness.

Corpus continued, including in statements at Tuesday's hearing, to refer to this process as biased and a "political hack job."

And, Corpus has vowed to sue for wrongful termination, and she has multiple other lawsuits pending against the county as well.

Former congresswoman turned county Supervisor Jackie Speier said in a statement before Tuesday's vote, per the Chronicle, "Today is the end of a tragic, destructive and grossly expensive chapter in San Mateo County history. I had high hopes for Sheriff Corpus … so it’s tragic to see her time as sheriff come down to this."

Previously: San Mateo County Supervisors Cast Final Vote, Ousting Sheriff Christina Corpus