Steve Colangelo will not return as Stockton’s interim city manager, while City Attorney Lori Asuncion will remain in her job.
A new contract for Colangelo that would have given him another three months as the city’s top executive was removed from the City Council’s agenda during another marathon council meeting on Tuesday.
City Council opted at its previous meeting to allow for Colangelo’s six-month contract to expire at the beginning of this month and reappoint Deputy City Manager Will Crew as acting city manager until a new interim city manager contract could be agendized.
Initially, it was unclear whether the new contract would be for Colangelo or another potential candidate.
However, this week’s agenda documents show that at its July 29 meeting the council intended to keep Colangelo as interim. The council had reportedly directed the city attorney to make an offer and negotiate another employment contract with him, to be brought back at its next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday night — though these details were not released to the public at the time, creating confusion.
This contract would have left Colangelo in charge of City Hall until at least November while the council searched for a permanent city manager. Instead, Crew will for now remain in his post as acting city manager.
It’s unclear why the council opted to not reappoint Colangelo.
Tuesday’s agenda shows council was scheduled to discuss the possible appointment of a city manager during closed session, though the potential candidate was not listed, and a new interim city manager contract for Colangelo was set to be approved during a public session later in the evening.
Council’s closed session also included a review for the city attorney, followed by the possible discipline, dismissal or release of the city attorney and then immediately after by a discussion on the possible appointment of another public employee.
A similar combination and order of agenda items (possible dismissal to appointment) were listed on the agenda back in January when former City Manager Harry Black resigned in lieu of being fired.
Shortly after council returned from Tuesday’s closed session, which lasted an unprecedented nearly five hours, the city attorney reported no actions had been taken during the council’s closed-door discussions, indicating neither a city manager was appointed nor a city attorney fired.
Since the items were discussed in closed session and related to employment, the public is not privy to the deliberations. State law requires only actions taken during closed session, such as the hiring or firing of a city attorney, or appointing a city manager, are required to be publicly disclosed.
The mayor only later announced during public session that Colangelo’s contract was being removed from the meeting’s agenda, giving no explanation as to why.
Agenda documents show that approving Colangelo’s employment contract also would have served as a vote to reappoint him, so it’s unclear why an item to appoint a city manager was included separately on the council’s agenda.
According to city emails obtained by Stocktonia through a public records request, it was Vice Mayor Jason Lee who requested the appointment of a city manager be put on Tuesday’s agenda for closed session, which was supported by Councilmembers Mario Enríquez and Michael Blower.
All three councilmembers have publicly criticized Colangelo and advocated for someone more experienced to be Stockton’s interim city manager
It’s unclear why Lee asked for an item to appoint the city manager to be placed on the agenda.
“I’ve sought the support of my colleagues copied but have not discussed the details as to why,” is all Lee wrote to the city clerk Aug. 1. Other than at the mayor’s request, it takes three councilmembers to get an item put on a council agenda for closed session.
It was unlikely Colangelo would have had full council support to continue as interim. His initial appointment was by a contentious 4-3 vote. He has also faced continued controversy and criticism from several on the council, including his once-supporter Vice Mayor Lee.
Lee, who voted to appoint Colangelo earlier this year, had since emerged as his harshest critic in recent months, including accusing the former interim city manager just this week of possible budgetary fraud and other unethical behavior.
At a joint press conference last week with fellow Councilmember Enríquez, Lee said he’d support Crew in continuing as acting city manager until a permanent candidate can be found, praising his experience and describing him as an “asset” to the city’s leadership team.
“Will is a stellar employee who has done phenomenal work in all areas of this city. I’ve grown to respect him and his integrity. But more importantly, Will, I believe, is the bridge to bring our staff together to be able to help this council stay united and to continue to move the work forward,” Lee said at the press conference while standing outside City Hall. “I can’t speak to Will, if he wants to do it until then or not. There’s a lot of mess behind me that has to be cleaned up.”
This marked a significant change in rhetoric from Lee.
In January, several members of the council and the public were concerned about Colangelo’s lack of experience. Lee had argued that it was a non issue.
“I don’t care who sits in that chair. They could be Ronald McDonald — they can put a clown, they can put a rocket scientist,” Lee said at the time. “Whoever sits in that chair will be fired if they don’t do the will of the board of directors that comes directly from the stakeholders.”
Originally set for this week, City Council has pushed back its self-imposed deadline for hiring a permanent city manager. The job posting went live just last week and candidate interviews are scheduled for early October, according to council documents.
Not a typical choice
Colangelo was a controversial and unconventional choice for Stockton’s interim city manager when he was hired in February.
The long-time event planner and serial political candidate, including a failed bid for Stockton City Council, lacked the education and experience in municipal government typically required for the role, which concerned both the public and some councilmembers.
Colangelo’s time as CEO of the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds was also marred by a scathing state audit detailing sweeping financial accountability issues and other problems before he made a sudden exit.
Concerns over his education and work history were tempered at the time with assurances by some on City Council, including Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi and Vice Mayor Lee, that Colangelo was the right choice for the position and would only serve as Stockton’s city manager temporarily until a permanent replacement could be found.
“Steve isn’t a career bureaucrat, and that’s exactly why he’s the right choice for Stockton,” Fugazi said in a press release announcing Colangelo’s appointment. “His deep commitment to our city and proven leadership make him the best person to take on this critical role.”
The new contract for Colangelo stated that he represented “the necessary and specialized experience, skills, and expertise required to serve as the City’s Interim City Manager.”
However, his current resume doesn’t seem to fit the listed qualifications the council wants its next permanent city manager to possess, including “7 to 10 years of experience as a Chief Executive, Assistant/Deputy Chief Executive or Department Head in a government agency of comparable complexity and size (to Stockton); experience working with elected officials; and a Bachelor’s degree.”
The ad also says a master’s degree in public administration or a related field is preferred, among other listed skills.
A controversial interim
However, Colengelo’s tenure as interim city manager and the council’s search for a permanent choice have also not been without their own controversy.
Ire from both the public and some councilmembers was ignited earlier this year after an investigation by Stocktonia revealed that Colangelo had hired another city manager for $11,000 per month of public money to help him do his job. It was also later reported that the money used to pay for the contract had been reallocated from funds meant for diversity, equity and inclusion support.
City officials announced the contract was terminated a short time later.
Councilmembers have also sparred publicly over the city manager search, including the dissolution of an ad hoc search committee and accusations of law breaking and political retaliation, as well as with Colangelo himself.
Just last week Colangelo faced off with Vice Mayor Lee and Councilmember Enríquez over mutual accusations of wrongdoing.
Among other complaints, Lee and Enríquez alleged Colangelo likely committed budgetary fraud and has bullied staff for speaking out when they have concerns. Both have said they would be requesting the allegations be referred to the California attorney general’s office. Colangelo has not yet responded to Stocktonia’s request for comment on the issue.
In turn, the interim city manager announced an investigation had been launched into how $50,000 of city funds to support a comedy show event back in May that vice mayor participated in was disbursed without his knowledge or approval and, additionally, “whether boundaries between policymaking and administration were crossed,” referencing Lee’s involvement without using his name.
Lee has denied he’s done anything wrong or that he profited from the event, saying that the funding approval followed the proper protocols and previous precedent.
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