Questions surround District 6 candidates as election approaches

Media entrepreneur Jason Lee and Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley both disclosed new investments and income in conflict-of-interest documents after California’s government ethics agency opened investigations into the candidates.

Both competitors for the District 6 seat on the Stockton City Council initially revealed no personal financial information in Statements of Economic interest filed late last year.

However, in new statements Stocktonia obtained Thursday, Lee has since disclosed holding stock in Hollywood Unlocked, Inc., the Los Angeles-based gossip website he founded in 2010. Warmsley has also since listed her salary as California executive director for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

Economic interest statements are meant to deter politicians from using their offices to line their pockets by making their economic ties public. California’s Political Reform Act generally bars officials from voting on or influencing decisions they would profit from.

For his part, Lee’s statement represents a rare clue about the finances of the self-professed multimillionaire, who has touted his business experience at candidate forums throughout his campaign.

What’s more, the statements raise the question of whether Lee’s Hollywood Unlocked plans to do business in Stockton if he’s elected. Under California law, candidates only need to disclose investments in non-local companies if the company has done, or plans to do, business where they’re running. 

“Although Hollywood Unlocked at the present time has done no business in the city of Stockton, as someone who will possibly assume office in January I think it’s important that people see that for themselves,” Lee stated through a lawyer Friday.

In his statements, the candidate said he’s the company’s “Director and Officer.” In February, he said he planned to hire a replacement CEO. On Monday, Lee’s Linkedin said he’s still chief executive.

Lee did not respond by deadline for comment regarding if he has any plans to do business in Stockton. If so, he’d have to recuse himself from any city council decisions that would benefit him financially.

In June, Lee said through a spokesman he had “already ensured compliance” with disclosure laws, The Record reported. Warmsley said she didn’t “have any business or investments that would compromise my ability to vote on something,” the outlet reported.

But the Fair Political Practices Commission opened investigations into both candidates after a July 8 complaint claimed they failed to share enough income and investment information, complaint receipts from the FPPC show.

It’s unclear how the complaint was made or by whom. The complaint is listed as “commission-initiated” but that could mean a number of things that will not become clear until the case is resolved, according to the FPPC.

The commission, which does not comment on open investigations, will not say who made the complaint until the case is closed, FPPC spokesman Jay Wierenga told Stocktonia last week.

In a new August statement, Lee said he holds over $100,000 in Hollywood Unlocked stock. The statement shows he listed no direct income from the business.

Lee has not yet responded to requests for comment by Stocktonia as of publication about why the company was absent from his first statements.

Warmsley’s statement, also signed last month, lists a salary from NASW of more than $100,000. 

“I think for me it was definitely just an oversight,” she told Stocktonia Friday.

Beyond his company’s appearance in the new conflict-of-interest documents, Lee’s comments during the campaign also raise the question of whether he’s planning to do business in Stockton. 

In February, Lee announced on Instagram that Hollywood Unlocked had opened an office in Stockton and planned to hire employees. The site has published several posts about Stockton news and politics since 2022.

This month, Lee said on Facebook he plans to “(create) a group to seriously look at acquiring” the Adventist Health Arena in downtown Stockton. It’s unclear whether Lee intends to be a party to a prospective deal.

California law bars officials from making government contracts in which they have a financial interest.

In recent years, the candidate’s existing ventures have run into legal trouble, including 16 federal lawsuits since 2018 by photographers and agencies claiming Hollywood Unlocked used photos without permission or payment, Stocktonia has previously reported. 

A Chinese company also sued Lee in state court over a 2022 contract it says Lee failed to uphold, the outlet reported. Lee says he was fraudulently induced to sign the deal, court records show.

And at least two of Lee’s companies seem to be in poor standing with California tax collectors, a search of state business records showed Monday. It’s unclear if the issues have been resolved. 

The Hollywood businessman has had better luck fundraising in the District 6 race than the incumbent, where he’s reportedly received nearly $193,000 from Jan. 1 to Oct. 19, largely from out-of-town donors, campaign finance records show.

Lee was unable to respond to a question about how much time he’d spend in Stockton if elected, his spokesman said in March.

Warmsley raised roughly $82,000 from Jan. 1 to Oct. 19, records show.

In a turnaround, Lee also clinched a victory when the San Joaquin County Democratic Party made no endorsement in the general election race after the party’s backing of Warmsley in the March primary.

The businessman was the top vote-getter in the six-person primary race at 42%.

“During the primary I told the County Dems that neither of us should be endorsed by them,” Lee told Stocktonia via a statement through his lawyer Friday. “Me because they just met me, and I hadn’t proven myself yet.”

In a phone call Friday, Democratic Party Chair Manuel Zapata agreed. “Lee wasn’t in the race in time for the process in the beginning.”

Warmsley thinks county Democrats handled the endorsement issue poorly, she said Friday. 

“You don’t pull an endorsement four weeks before the election,” she said. “I know how hard it is to facilitate this. But I also know you’ve got to play fair.”

“When it came down to it … neither one got the votes to move forward with the endorsement,” Zapata said.