Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee is demanding more than $25,000 in compensatory damages from the city and an apology for statements he says harmed his reputation and future political prospects while causing emotional distress.
The demands are contained in a letter from Lee’s Los Angeles-based attorney. If he doesn’t get them, the attorney says Lee will sue. He estimates damage to Lee, which includes lost wages and benefits and interference with business relationships, likely exceeds $15 million.
Lee posted the letter, which was dated Aug. 22, on a social media account Tuesday. Under the heading “Tell the truth Tuesday,” he also included a note saying that Mayor Christina Fugazi put an item on last week’s City Council agenda recommending he be investigated for a comedy stage show he participated in in May that was subsidized by the city, alleging that she knew he had done nothing wrong. The City Council approved hiring an outside investigator to look into how the show was handled.
“The community should really be concerned that she did this after being warned these politically motivated attacks will cost the city millions in lawsuits, which she chose to ignore,” Lee wrote.
The letter from attorney Walter Mosley, whose website lists his specialty as entertainment and labor law, to City Attorney Lori Asuncion says Lee is the victim of a “systematic campaign of false, defamatory and retaliatory statements” by city officials in order to silence him in carrying out legitimate oversight activities. As a gay, Black man, Lee was treated differently from former interim City Manager Steve Colangelo, who is white and is alleged to have been involved in worse conduct, according to the letter.
“The city has systematically used official resources, taxpayer funds and government platforms to orchestrate a character assassination campaign against Mr. Lee while simultaneously rewarding the very official whose violations were substantiated and witnessed,” Mosley states in the letter. As such, Lee’s civil rights were violated, the lawyer says.
Not only must city officials immediately cease making statements deemed defamatory about Lee, but within 10 days, they must issue a “comprehensive public retraction” absolving the vice mayor of any hint of wrongdoing concerning the entertainment event, Wild ‘N Out Live. In addition, Mosley demands that the city apologize “for the harm caused to Mr. Lee’s reputation and effectiveness.”
A city spokesperson said Stockton officials cannot comment on potential or pending litigation.
Lee won his first elective office in November, becoming the councilmember in south Stockton’s District 6. Fugazi was a close political ally at the time. When new councilmembers began their terms in January, Lee was made vice mayor. But the Stockton native who endured a difficult childhood took a different political path than most. He was a Hollywood entertainer and podcaster. Among his gigs was a recurring role on an MTV and VH-1 comedy show, Wild ‘N Out.
Since winning his seat, Lee has shaken up City Hall like no other councilmember. He has taken on issues such as the diversion of diversity, equity and inclusion funds to pay for a consultant to Colangelo.
Earlier this year, he suggested that the performance version of the TV show, Wild ‘N Out Live, be brought to Stockton. When ticket sales were sluggish, the city tapped its Risk Mitigation Fund for $50,000 to subsidize the May 24 performance at Adventist Health Arena. Both Wild ‘N Out’s promoter and the head of the events management firm that handles city venues have said they have no knowledge of Lee having received any of the city money, which would constitute a conflict of interest. The outside investigator’s probe is aimed at making sure that’s true.
While the show resulted in losses to its promoters, Mosley writes that the event was a win for the city. He cites the city’s event manager as saying that Wild ‘N Out Live generated $640,000 in direct economic impact for Stockton, including wages and parking revenue.
“Yet rather than commending Mr. Lee for facilitating this remarkable success, city officials have launched a vindictive campaign to destroy his reputation, revealing the true political motivation behind these attacks,” Mosley says in his letter.
This isn’t the first time Lee has called out what he described as defamatory comments against him and threatened legal action against a city colleague. In July, he posted a letter on social media from Mosley addressing fellow Councilmember Brando Villapudua and demanding a public retraction of what Lee described as false and malicious comments against him.
The exchange, made during a tense City Council meeting, involved Villapudua accusing both Lee and Councilmember Mario Enríquez of violating the Brown Act, the state’s open-meetings law, by privately seeking Villapudua’s support to remove Colangelo from his post. Villapudua further accused Lee of threats of political retaliation if he did not cooperate.
In turn, Villapudua said in a response letter posted to social media that he had only been doing his duty as a councilmember in revealing what he describes as Lee’s misconduct and doubled down on his previous assertions.
Stocktonia staff writer Cassie Dickman contributed to this article.