This story has been updated with additional comments from Mayor Christina Fugazi.
Mayor Christina Fugazi has solely made the decision to dissolve an ad hoc committee established by City Council to help search for Stockton’s next permanent city manager. Council policy doesn’t give her that kind of unilateral decision-making power.
The mayor has also since publicly accused one of her fellow councilmembers of violating confidentiality rules and the state’s public meeting laws, which was met with denials and allegations that Fugazi has shown a pattern of going rogue.
Over the last week, Vice Mayor Jason Lee and Councilmember Mario Enríquez have publicly questioned and criticized the mayor’s move to dissolve the council’s ad hoc committee established to assist in selecting a final pool of city manager candidates to eventually be interviewed by the full council.
A resolution was passed by the council in early February to establish the Ad Hoc Committee for City Manager Selection following the January resignation of former City Manager Harry Black. The mayor appointed Lee and Enríquez to serve with her on the committee.
The committee’s purpose was described in the approved resolution as “to choose a recruiter and recommend candidates to interview before the full Council.” Because the ad hoc committee was established via council resolution, meaning a majority of councilmembers voted to approve its creation, it would typically take another majority vote by council to approve any changes to the committee or its mission.
“I’ve spent my entire career standing for ethical, transparent leadership — and I won’t let political games or unilateral decisions distract from what our community deserves: real accountability and a fair, collaborative process,” Enríque said in a statement to Stocktonia late Friday.
Lee first publicly brought up the issue at a council Legislation/Environmental Committee meeting last week, saying that he and Enríquez had been “removed from the city manager ad hoc committee unilaterally by the mayor.”
“We don’t know why. We don’t understand why,” Lee said. “And the understanding I have is that the mayor has the full authority to publicly put us on a committee that represents inclusion and equity, and then just remove us.”
He also requested a review of policies “that gives the mayor that kind of authority.” The city attorney, Lori Asuncion, explained at the meeting that the legislation committee has authority to review council policy related to things such as how items are agendized or the formation/dissolution of ad hoc committees. However, she said there is also a charter provision involved that would need to go through the Charter Review Commission and ultimately be put on a ballot for a vote.
The vice mayor later said at a press conference with Enríquez held outside City Hall that they’d both been “extremely proud to be selected to be on the ad hoc committee to find the next permanent city manager, whomever that person would be.”
Lee described the ad hoc as the mayor’s committee, saying it was her choice to disband it, which he respected.
“I made my case for why it’s important that if we create an ad hoc in public, we got to disband it in public and have dialogue,” Lee said of a recent meeting he had with the mayor, adding that he’d requested a discussion on the matter be added to the next City Council agenda. Enríquez echoed those sentiments in last week’s City Council meeting during council comments.
The councilmembers were notified the ad hoc committee had been dissolved via email in late May, according to Enríquez. If the committee is dissolved, it will be up to the mayor and a hiring firm to present candidates to the council. This gives councilmembers only a few finalists to vote on in the end stages of the hiring process.
“For the first time, having an ad hoc dissolved with no clear answer, taking two diverse voices off the table, the chance that we can filter quality resumes for the next 10 to 16 weeks is now lost,” Enríquez said at the press conference. “I want the public to know that’s what’s happening.”
Mayor Fugazi has publicly argued that the ad hoc committee has already served its purpose by selecting a search firm that will create a pool of potential candidates.
“Sadly, this isn’t surprising given the mayor’s pattern of making unilateral decisions without collaborating with her colleagues,” Enríquez told Stocktonia in a statement late Friday. “Stockton deserves better than divisive tactics and political games.”
The mayor is tasked by the charter with immediately initiating a procedure for selecting a new city manager whenever a vacancy occurs. Nominating one or more candidates for the role for council consideration is also the mayor’s responsibility. It is then the full council’s duty to appoint a city manager.
The charter nor council policy requires formation of an ad hoc committee to aid in the process of hiring a city manager.
“My decision to include other councilmembers via an Ad Hoc Committee was not required by law but was done in a spirit of collaborative cooperation to allow input and dialogue, while maintaining fidelity to the Charter,” Fugazi said in a press release Thursday afternoon.
“To ensure the process remains lawful, limits the City’s legal exposure, and, more importantly, is deserving of public trust, the direct work of the Ad Hoc Committee, who successfully selected the recruiter, has concluded,” she added.
“Any information or any direction that’s contained in a resolution passed by council can only be rescinded or amended by the council.”
Lori Asuncion, Stockton City Attorney
The ad hoc committee chose the firm Peckham McKenney to lead the search for potential city manager candidates. However, the committee was also supposed to help “interview and recommend candidates to the full Council for potential appointment,” according to the resolution passed by council establishing the committee.
Longtime event manager Steve Colangelo has served as interim city manager for nearly four months.
Fugazi did not initially respond to Stocktonia’s requests for comment before publication. However, she later responded to questions via text, saying she had spoken to the city attorney and stands by her actions.
In part, the mayor stated: “(The city attorney) said I could have dissolved it by bringing it back to council, but she is not aware of any legal obligation to do so given that the purpose of said committee stems from a charter obligation that is solely within my authority.”
On Friday, ABC 10 reported that Fugazi has, for now, opted to dissolve the ad hoc committee instead of launching a formal investigation into her claims that councilmembers have violated state open meeting laws.
“In order to stop further damage from potentially occurring, the natural progression would be to dissolve the ad hoc committee,” Fugazi told the news outlet.
That report contradicted what Fugazi told Stocktonia earlier in the week following Vice Mayor Lee’s press conference Monday. She said the committee had been dissolved because it was done with its work.
“We hired the firm. The firm does all the work now. There’s nothing for us to do,” Fugazi said. “The firm will go out, find the candidates, bring it back to the council, and then we’ll go from there.”
She also said that next steps include the search firm meeting with each member of the council about what they’re looking for in a city manager before recruiting efforts begin.
Vice Mayor Lee was unable to immediately respond to Stocktonia’s questions on whether he believed the mayor acted outside her authority in dissolving the committee. He told Stocktonia that he’d only recently been made aware of Thursday’s press release from the mayor and needed time to review recent developments.
Mayoral authority over council committees
City Council policy says only a majority vote by the full council can make changes to its subcommittees.
Council committees are made up of no more than three councilmembers, the purpose of which are “to provide detailed analysis and study matters, including obtaining public input, which are referred to the Committee by the City Council or Council appointees and to provide the full City Council with a report on its findings and recommendations.”
“Delegation of such studies is essential to the efficiency of the City Council,” council policy states.
Ad hoc committees are established by the mayor via council agreement, “with appointments to be made by the Mayor based on the expertise and expressed interest of the Councilmembers.” Changes to any council committee’s makeup of members after it’s been created must also be confirmed by council resolution. Council resolutions are passed by council with a majority vote.
Terms for an ad hoc committee cannot be longer than one year unless extended by council resolution, according to council policy, and the Stockton City Charter does not grant the mayor sole power to dissolve council committees.
The City Charter says ad hoc committees that “may be necessary or desirable to advise and assist in the work of the City Council” are to be appointed by the mayor “with the advice and consent of council.” Ad hoc committees meant to assist the mayor in their work do not need council approval when created.
City Attorney Asuncion also clarified at an Audit Committee meeting last week that resolutions passed by council vote can only be modified in the same way.
“Any information or any direction that’s contained in a resolution passed by council can only be rescinded or amended by the council.”
Lori Asuncion, Stockton City Attorney
“Any information or any direction that’s contained in a resolution passed by council can only be rescinded or amended by the council,” Asuncion said when questioned on the issue by Vice Mayor Lee, who chairs the committee.
City Council established its Ad Hoc Committee for City Manager Selection through resolution in February via council approval — the vote count being unanimous.
Thus, Mayor Fugazi does not have the power to dissolve the ad hoc committee, alter its purpose, or change its members without first bringing the issue before the full council.
Fugazi alleges confidentiality and legal violations
Mayor Fugazi has also accused fellow Councilmember Enríquez of potential Brown Act violations, a state law requiring government meetings and decision making be open to the public, with rare exceptions.
“While I typically avoid responding to political theater, the public deserves clarity on why this step was necessary to protect both the integrity of our process and the credibility of our city Government,” Fugazi said in Thursday’s press release.
In the release, the mayor alleged Enríquez had “engaged in repeated discussions with other Councilmembers regarding both the Interim City Manager and potential replacements, when strict confidentiality was stressed to all Ad Hoc members.”
She also said “there have been credible reports” of the city manager position being “informally offered or discussed with prospective candidates, outside of any formal, authorized process.”
This alleged conduct by Enríquez “raises serious legal concerns,” said Fugazi, who added that state law prohibits what are known as “serial meetings.”
Members of a legislative body are not allowed to meet as a group with a voting majority of the members present, also known as a quorum, to discuss legislative business outside of an agendized, public meeting. This includes communications between a quorum of members even if they’re not all meeting at the same time in the same physical space, known as “serial meetings,” such as email chains, text message groups, or individually discussing a specific issue while also relaying that information to a voting majority of members.
“This kind of behavior is not only inappropriate, it’s damaging. It reflects a disregard for legal boundaries and professional norms,” Fugazi said in the release. “Potential candidates are watching how we operate as a Council, and they are evaluating whether Stockton is a place they would want to serve. We must be mindful of our actions and the message we send about our city’s leadership culture.”
However, the mayor does not specify in the statement who else on the council may have been involved in the alleged inappropriate discussions surrounding the hiring of Stockton’s next city manager. She also did not immediately respond to Stocktonia’s questions Friday asking her to specify which councilmembers she believes have been involved.
Stockton City Council is made up seven voting members, with six district representatives and the mayor. Thus, a quorum for the council is considered to be four members.
Enríquez has denied he’s done anything wrong.
“The mayor’s accusations are not only false — they’re irresponsible. I have never violated the Brown Act, and any suggestion otherwise is both misleading and inappropriate,” Enríquez told Stocktonia.
Fugazi did not mention Vice Mayor Lee in Thursday’s press release, though he too has commented publicly on the dissolution of the city manager search ad hoc committee. The mayor did not immediately respond to questions Friday morning about why she had only chosen to publicly criticize Enríquez.
Reporters Hope Munoz and Scott Linesburgh contributed to this story.
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