Two Stockton city councilmembers issued pointed criticisms of city leadership this week, calling for higher standards in the selection of a new city manager and shedding light on troubling budget practices and staffing shortfalls.
During a public town hall held Thursday at San Joaquin Delta College, Vice Mayor Jason Lee and District 4 Councilmember Mario Enriquez emphasized the need for competency, integrity, and structure at the top of city government. The event — part of a new civic series organized by the San Joaquin County Civic Alliance — was moderated by Delta College political science professor Joel Blank, Stockton Record reporter Hannah Workman and Delta student Valentina Chavez.
Both officials, elected in 2024, used the event to reflect on their first nine months in office and to sound the alarm on what they described as systemic dysfunction inside City Hall.
Lee, who chairs the council’s Audit Committee, alleged that the city’s most recent budget included inaccuracies so severe they misrepresented the structure of city government itself.
“We were presented a budget that was not accurate,” Lee noted. “It included departments that had been eliminated, only to create a department that wasn’t approved or budgeted for and only to hand out jobs to people who did not apply.”
When asked to name the specific departments referenced in his budget claims, Lee said an investigation is underway and that further details would be disclosed at a later time.
The remark was one of several that painted a picture of disarray within the city’s financial operations. Stockton, which has operated without a permanent chief financial officer for over a year, is currently undergoing a forensic audit, a process Lee called to “get under the hood” of the city’s financial management.
‘Not just doing favors’
At the center of the town hall was the looming appointment of a new city manager, Stockton’s fourth in less than a year. Both Lee and Enriquez made it clear that they are seeking a candidate with professional credentials and moral character, rejecting what they described as “backroom hiring practices of the past.”
“It’s not just doing favors for people behind the scenes,” Enriquez said. “We deserve a standard that says you studied to do this job.”
The city recently opened applications for the role, following months under interim leadership. Enriquez said he advocated for requiring a college bachelor’s degree, a standard he claimed had been absent since 1985.
While that specific timeline could not be independently verified, the city’s current job listing, posted by executive search firm Peckham & McKenne, now explicitly requires a bachelor’s degree in public or business administration, political science, or a related field. A master’s degree and credentialing from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) are listed as preferred qualifications.
Lee added that a future city manager must demonstrate both leadership and humility.
“You can have a degree or a certification,” he said. “But if you don’t have integrity, none of that matters.”
Both officials referenced the loss of staff morale under recent interim leadership and warned that continued instability could lead to a “mass exodus” of long-serving city employees.
Vacancy crisis, culture shift
Stockton’s city employment vacancy rate sits at 14.29%, with over 230 budgeted positions unfilled, according to city data presented at a June council briefing, first reported by Stocktonia. That shortfall, Enriquez said, is affecting delivery of basic services across departments from public works to public safety.
The vice mayor stressed that the issue is not simply about numbers.
“It’s the quality of the work and the quality of the environment that matters,” Lee said. “If you have an environment where people don’t feel valued, it doesn’t matter how many people you have.”
He added that outdated or inconsistent hiring practices are part of the problem. “We’re really asking our (human resources) department, ‘How do you hire people? Where do you post jobs? How do you train them?’”
Enriquez described a “back to basics” approach for rebuilding city operations, starting with transparency, staff retention and professional standards. He also noted a recent council push to restructure outdated policies, including efforts to clarify how councilmembers can interact with city staff.
“There was a rule that councilmembers couldn’t talk to staff,” Lee said. “How are we supposed to know what’s happening? We’ve changed that culture.”
Rebuilding trust, restoring function
Both councilmembers said that rebuilding public trust must be the foundation of the city’s next chapter.
“When people come out and ask for your trust,” Lee said, “they deserve action.”
Enriquez closed by noting that despite the turbulence of the past year, he remains “optimistic” that the city can rebuild with the right leadership.
“We didn’t run for office to be show ponies,” Lee said. “We’re here to fix what’s broken.”
The civic town hall series will continue next week with San Joaquin County Supervisors Mario Gardea and Sonny Dhaliwal. The forum is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m. in the Dawn Mabalon Forum at San Joaquin Delta College. Both the event and parking are free and open to the public.