Three weeks after a Stockton official made comments about Vice Mayor Jason Lee that some said were homophobic, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors appointed the official to the board of the county’s bus system.

Donald Tafoya was appointed to the San Joaquin Regional Transit District’s board of directors on June 2 to complete a term former director Les Fong left unfinished when he resigned in February amid turmoil within the district’s leadership. 

Last month, Tafoya said during a Stockton City Council meeting he thought Lee wanted to take sexual advantage of someone from a television show — comments Councilmember Mario Enriquez and a member of the public said they felt expressed prejudice toward Lee’s sexual orientation. 

Both Lee and Enriquez are members of the LGBTQ+ community.

On June 9, the City Council voted unanimously to appoint Tafoya to the Community Development Committee —  responsible for advising the City Council on how to allocate housing funds  — with no discussion, following his nomination by District 2 Councilmember Mariela Ponce.

Tafoya also sits on Stockton’s Strong Communities Advisory Committee, tasked with monitoring how the city spends tax money dedicated to recreation and library services.

Yet Tafoya’s appointment to his latest city committee wasn’t the first official post he’s received in the wake of his comments. On June 2, the Board of Supervisors put Tafoya on the RTD board in a 4-1 vote.

Supervisors Mario Gardea, Paul Canepa, Sonny Dhaliwal and Robert Rickman of Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted in favor of Tafoya’s appointment. District 4 Supervisor Steve Ding abstained.

Tafoya didn’t respond to emailed questions.

What did Tafoya say?

The remarks about Lee occurred at a May 12 City Council meeting, when Tafoya claimed during public comment that Lee wanted to be cast in a particular television show so he could take sexual advantage of someone involved in the series.

It was unclear from Tafoya’s comments whether he was claiming that Lee was talking about  a character in the show, or of the real-life actor who plays the character. 

Stocktonia has chosen not to publish Tafoya’s exact words. Tafoya didn’t respond to attempts to reach him via social media and through Community Development Committee staff.

At the May 12 council meeting, Tafoya’s comment about Lee was met with gasps from the audience. Tafoya then defended his remarks, saying, “they’re words from (Lee’s) mouth, that are on the internet.”

It’s unclear what internet statements Tafoya was referring to.

It may have been a May 3 video in which Lee expresses sadness about the Netflix show “Beauty in Black” ending; in the video Lee pitches a hypothetical new season for the show starring himself and rapper Cardi B where each would have amorous plotlines with existing characters.

The video was posted to the Facebook page for Hollywood Unlocked, Lee’s entertainment company and the focus of his career before he ran for office.

At the May 12 council meeting, some expressed outrage over Tafoya’s comments and councilmembers’ reaction to them.

“A speaker is allowed to … make a very derogatory sexual comment on someone’s sexual orientation on the dais,” resident Julie Dunning said during public comment.

“We had someone from the public that was saying some homophobic remarks,” Councilmember Mario Enriquez said. “Yet nobody up here called them out on it.”

Fugazi addressed Tafoya’s comment in her own end-of-meeting remarks.

“I’ve been called all kinds of things. I’ve had slanderous things said, and I don’t like it … but in the end, they have a First Amendment right,” the mayor said of public commenters like Tafoya.

John Alita, Executive Director of the San Joaquin Pride Center, called Tafoya’s comments “deeply troubling.”

While the remarks were “difficult to follow, there were clear insinuations directed at the Vice Mayor that have no place in public discourse,” Alita said.

In a statement days after Tafoya’s appointment, Lee said, “After repeated public attacks against me during City Council meetings—including comments and conduct I believe targeted and demeaned me because of my sexuality—the Council chose not to distance itself from that behavior. Instead, it elevated it.”

When asked via email why he’d joined his council colleagues in voting to appoint Tafoya, Lee called the vote an “oversight” and said he planned to return the issue to City Council.

‘I would’ve thrown him out of the room’

A vote on who would fill ex-RTD Director Les Fong’s seat came before the Board of Supervisors on June 2, the board’s agenda for the meeting shows.

The board had previously appointed public transit manager John Andoh to the seat, but he declined the role because he’d already signed a consulting contract with RTD, creating a conflict of interest, Board Clerk Rachel DeBord said at the meeting.

Gardea made the motion to appoint Tafoya, saying, “I feel like there needs to be some stability at RTD right now.” He added that he’d considered every candidate’s expertise before backing Tafoya.

Gardea, Rickman, Dhaliwal and Canepa didn’t respond to questions about whether they knew of Tafoya’s comments about Lee before voting to appoint him.

And Gardea didn’t answer questions about why he saw Tafoya as the candidate most likely to bring stability to the bus system. He also didn’t answer questions about why he backed Tafoya — a real estate agent, according to his application for the appointment — over candidates with transit industry experience.

Tafoya was appointed “based on his decades of public service, civic involvement, and contributions to the residents of San Joaquin County,” county spokesperson Katie Piper said in a statement.

The release also said the county and board “condemn discrimination, prejudice, and bigotry in all forms.”

When asked whether Tafoya’s comments played a role in his decision to abstain from voting, Ding said,  “Of course it didn’t weigh in, otherwise I would’ve thrown him out of the room … I didn’t hear about the comment until a couple of days ago.”

In light of Tafoya’s remarks, “The RTD board really needs to take a hard look at themselves, and why they are there,” Ding said.

‘Fairness and impartiality’

RTD directors Derek Graves Jr., Geneva Moorad, Aaron Edwards and Saiha San didn’t respond to emailed questions about whether they believe Tafoya’s comments reflected appropriate conduct for a board member, or about whether Tafoya could face repercussions on the board for his remarks.

RTD’s rules for its board of directors don’t contain an explicit rule stating that directors must behave respectfully. 

However, a section on conflicts of interest does state that public office is “a trust conferred by the public,” and that directors’ duties “must be exercised with fairness and impartiality.”