Stockton City Council will decide Tuesday whether or not to move forward with the censure process against its member Michele Padilla following accusations the District 1 councilor misused public funds.
Fellow Councilmembers Michael Blower and Brando Villapudua submitted an official letter to the city clerk’s office earlier this month requesting a censure hearing against Padilla be put on the agenda for the City Council’s meeting this week.
In July, Padilla may have violated City Council policy by providing a platform during her annual community BBQ for local officials and candidates running for office in the upcoming November election to make speeches, some of whom addressed their campaigns and political opponents.
The event reportedly cost the city more than $10,000, which has drawn ire from both the community and other councilmembers.
City Council will vote at its meeting Tuesday evening, which can be viewed live online on the city’s website or in person at Stockton City Hall, on whether it will moved forward with the censure process against Padilla.
The meeting’s open session starts at 5:30 p.m.
For those looking to catch up, here’s a recap of how a possible censure for Padilla came to be.
Padilla’s party in the park reportedly violated Stockton City Council funding rules
Stockton City Councilmember Michele Padilla may have run afoul of council policy at a community event she hosted in July by providing a public platform for local candidates seeking political office.
The event reportedly cost more than $10,000 to host and was paid for with City Council discretionary funding, according to documents and emails obtained by Stocktonia last month, which councilmembers are barred from using for political events.
Stocktonia was sent several videos recorded by an attendee of the Saturday-evening event, described as a community BBQ with free food and entertainment in a flier on Padilla’s social media accounts, showing four candidates that are running for office locally in San Joaquin County on a stage with the District 1 councilor and other officials giving speeches that were largely political in nature.
Padilla said at the time that she’s well aware of California state law surrounding the use of public resources and that she “can emphatically state that there was no violation.”
“Every expenditure of public funds for this event was reviewed by legal counsel from the city and approved,” Padilla wrote. “This event was open to the public, and all community members, elected or not, had the opportunity to speak. I believe in upholding the First Amendment right to speech and do not censor community members.”
For more, revisit the story below:
Stockton Councilmember Padilla faces possible censure after discretionary spending comes into question
Stockton spokesperson Connie Cochran says the city would not have approved spending on an event where “any component” violated policies surrounding the use of taxpayer money by members of the City Council in connection with politics and/or campaigning.
The July 20 event, held at Michael Faklis Park in north Stockton, was advertised as a community cookout with free food, a backpack giveaway, face painting, music and a raffle. According to videos provided to Stocktonia by an attendee and later corroborated by other people in attendance, several public officials and local political candidates were brought on stage to say a few words, which included mention of campaigns and political opponents by some of the candidates.
Speakers at the event included current Stockton mayoral candidate former Vice Mayor Christina Fugazi, Stockton City Council candidates Jason Lee and Mario Enríquez, and San Joaquin County Supervisor candidate Mario Gardea.
One of the only candidates seen in video footage to not explicitly mention they were running for local office was Fugazi, though she was shown wearing a campaign-style t-shirt. It was later confirmed that California State Assembly candidate Rhodesia Ransom also spoke, though she told Stocktonia last month she doesn’t recall saying anything that was political or related to her campaign.
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Censuring a city councilmember: What to know
How a censure is issued and the possible consequences Padilla could be facing if City Council ultimately votes to censure her may seem a bit convoluted for those unfamiliar with the process.
Both Blower and Villapudua have accused Padilla of misusing public funds and violating City Council policy, which stipulates that discretionary money can only be spent on resources that benefit the city and its residents and are not “religious or political in nature” or providing “personal benefit” to the member requesting the funds.
“I had a lot of community feedback from constituents and people that were concerned that city dollars were spent on a political event,” Blower told Stocktonia last week. “They didn’t think it was right — and they don’t think that it should be left unchallenged.”
To censure one of its members the City Council must go through a multi-step process, which may take weeks or months to conclude, that includes an investigation by an ad hoc committee.
A censure is meant to “deter violations of law and serious violations of adopted City policies.” However, the censure does not carry any fines or suspension of councilmember rights. The process essentially serves as an avenue for the City Council to provide a public dressing down of a member it has determined engaged in wrongdoing.
But City Council does have additional disciplinary options outside of the censure process to address the specific violation Padilla is alleged to have committed.
For more, revisit the story below: