Amid profound leadership changes at City Hall, it’s unclear how much time Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi is spending on the job — and it could put her in conflict with the City Charter.
Sworn in Jan. 7, Fugazi kicked off her term by leading the City Council’s ouster of Stockton’s city manager and appointment of an interim with no city government experience. The shakeup came as City Hall is still adjusting to sweeping leadership changes on the council itself, which saw four of its seven members replaced after the November election.
Throughout the tumult, Fugazi has continued in her pre-election position as a vice principal at Stagg High School on top of her mayoral duties, a Stockton Unified School District spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Fugazi says she plans to leave the role at the end of the school year.
The mayor’s office did not respond to a series of questions about how Fugazi divides her time between the mayoral role and her vice principal position.
By deadline Wednesday, Fugazi sent no response regarding the steps she takes if a city matter requires her attention while she’s working at Stagg, or if a school issue arises while she’s occupied with her mayoral duties.
The mayor also sent no response regarding how much time she’s spent working in the mayor role thus far. She submits no hourly timesheet, as mayors are paid a flat rate salary, city spokesperson Connie Cochran said.
“There is no ‘9 to 5’ schedule for a mayor,” Fugazi said in comments to The Record on Monday. “My work is dictated by the needs of the city, which means being available whenever and wherever I am needed. I take calls, attend meetings, and make decisions at all hours,” she said.
The mayor added that she’s using leave days earned at the school district to meet her city obligations.
Under Stockton’s charter — the city’s governing document — the mayor must “devote his or her full time” to the job. But no definition of what counts as full time for the mayor is spelled out.
California law defines full-time work as 40 hours per week. And for many city workers, that standard is the same. Department heads, middle managers and administrative and clerical workers must work 40 hours a week, or 80 hours every two weeks for certain schedules, to be considered full time, an agreement shows.
Yet while the mayor’s schedule isn’t as clearly-defined, she has access to the same health benefits as full-time city workers. “The Mayor shall be entitled to health, dental, life, and vision care insurance under the plans available to full-time employees of the City,” Stockton ordinance says.
By Wednesday, Stockton City Attorney Lori Asuncion — responsible for giving the City Council, including the mayor, legal guidance — sent no response when asked how the charter defines full-time work for the mayor. Asuncion sent no response when asked if she believes Fugazi’s schedule aligns with the charter.
It’s not impossible that Fugazi could be doing two full-time jobs — though doing so is rare. As of January, 395,000 people across the U.S. held two full-time jobs, defined as 35 hours per week each, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found.
Many more, nearly 5 million, held one full-time and one part-time position, statistics show.
“If there were anybody that could do two jobs, it would be (Fugazi),” Cochran said. “She’s got the energy level of the Energizer bunny.”
But problems can arise when pursuing two careers violates one or both employment contracts. In fact, in 2019 Fugazi and five other then-City Council members fired a former Stockton city manager for allegedly breaking his contract by using city time to pursue other career ambitions.
In spring 2019, then-City Manager Kurt Wilson used city business hours to complete a seven-week police academy training in southern California, court documents filed by Stockton’s lawyers state.
“(The) City alleges Wilson breached the Contract, by spending egregious amounts of time doing projects unrelated to his employment as the City Manager during working hours,” the documents said. Wilson’s contract required him to “devote his entire productive time, ability and attention to the business of” the city, they stated.
Fugazi sent no response by deadline when asked how her case differs legally from Wilson’s.
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