The new Stockton City Council held its swearing-in ceremony and first meeting at the Bob Hope Theatre Tuesday, kicking off a transition of power with possible impacts across City Hall.
Four new council members, including now-Mayor Christina Fugazi, took their oaths of office onstage at the historic downtown venue, joining three incumbents on the dais and effectively changing the makeup of the City Council.
With the gavel, the power of the mayor — from directing council meetings to staffing the council’s influential committees — passed to Fugazi from outgoing mayor Kevin Lincoln, who opted not to run for a second term amid his failed bid for Congress in November.
“A top priority is getting people on the same page,” Fugazi said in a speech after her swearing-in. “We need to trust each other and hold each other accountable.”
The District 2 seat passed from termed-out council member Dan Wright to health worker Mariela Ponce.
University of the Pacific director Mario Enriquez replaced termed-out District 4 representative Susan Lenz, and entertainment businessman Jason Lee succeeded District 6 council member Kimberly Warmsley after beating her in the general election.
District 1 Representative Michele Padilla, District 3 representative Michael Blower and District 5 representative Brando Villapudua remain on the dais.
With their swearing-in, the new City Council has inherited significant projects, from tackling homelessness — in the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case on the matter and amid Stockton’s chronic shelter shortage — to economic development in the city’s struggling areas and big projects like renovating Van Buskirk Park and moving City Hall to the waterfront.
As mayor, Fugazi also plans to prioritize fighting extreme heat and climate change, she said in a statement last month. The former teacher and current Stagg High School vice principal ran on the slogan of a “Safe, Clean Stockton” and has dubbed her top policy aide, Esperanza Vielma, “Chief Heat Policy Adviser,” the statement said.
After the council members’ oaths and speeches Tuesday, Mayor Fugazi convened the council’s first meeting. The council voted unanimously to appoint Lee as vice mayor, approved Fugazi’s committee appointments and granted Leenisha Ward the role of mayor’s public information officer.
For her part, Tuesday marked Councilmember Mariela Ponce’s first public appearance after attending no candidate forums or media interviews throughout her campaign. Ponce called her election “one of the greatest honors of my life” and thanked her parents and son in comments after her swearing-in.
The council member also thanked 209 Times owner and political consultant Motecuzoma Sanchez, as well as Robert Beadles, a well-known Republican donor and 2020 presidential election denier based in Reno who also donated to Fugazi’s campaign. Ponce previously sought to distance herself from the 209 Times in comments to The Record.
“The only contact I’ve had with 209 Times was when they interviewed (…) me about my successful lawsuits against the city and county,” she said in an August email.
After the event, Ponce said she couldn’t provide further comment — including on Beadles’ involvement in her campaign — but added that she would later return questions by phone.