Testimony before a Stockton City Council subcommittee, in a first day of hearings this week for an investigation into the handling of the city’s diversity, equity and inclusion resources, revealed an atmosphere of “chaos” and “fear” at City Hall when under the helm of former interim City Manager Steve Colangelo. 

And like previous Stockton City Council discussions, Colangelo — one of the 10 current and former city officials subpoenaed to testify in the council’s investigation — was once again absent. Despite the controversy and scrutiny of Colangelo’s decisions surrounding DEI management and funding at City Hall, Colangelo has yet to be questioned publicly, while staff has faced the brunt of the council’s inquiries for the past several months over the issue.

Former Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Preya Nixon and six other city officials testified Monday during a special session of the council’s Audit Committee. The committee is leading an investigation into Nixon’s demotion from a DEI manager working out of the city manager’s office to human resource personnel and the city’s alleged diversion of DEI funds during Colangelo’s tenure. 

Earlier this year, Colangelo had assured that the “strategic integration” of DEI into Stockton’s human resource department — which in turn led to Nixon’s transfer — would represent the city’s  “commitment to moving from symbolic gestures to systematic change.”

“We’re not reducing our commitment,” Colangelo said in a June 19 news release. It was the only public comment the former city leader has made since he diverrted nearly $100,000 in funds largely earmarked for DEI to other expenses, including funding the hiring of Lathrop City Manager Steven Salvatore as a personal professional consultant for $11,000 a month. 

The controversial diversion of DEI money came to light right before summer, which led to public outcry and crticism from some councilmembers, including Vice Mayor Jason Lee and Mario Enríquez, who held a scathing press conference on the issue in June. 

“We’re making it more systematic, more sustainable, and more accountable,” Colangelo said in a June news release in response to the criticism.

Yet Nixon, during a March one-on-one with the former interim city manager, recalled Colangelo calling DEI “a liability to the city,” she shared in testimony during Monday’s hearing. 

“In fact, not having DEI is a liability,” Nixon recalled insisting to Colangelo in the reportedly private conversation the two of them had in his office. 

Ten officials were subpoenaed in early October, including Colangelo, acting City Manager Will Crew and Deputy City Managers Courtney Christy and Chad Reed. The state gives cities subpoena power similar to that of civil court cases.

“I believe there was a culture of fear,” said interim Budget Officer Brandon Sepulveda, who was one of seven questioned by the committee Monday. 

According to Sepulveda’s testimony, he came into his executive position following the February dismissals of the city’s interim and assistant chief financial officers. Reed, as deputy city manager, currently serves as the city’s interim CFO. 

“Speaking for myself,” Sepulveda added. “I felt that the interim city manager was not open to dissent.”

Crew echoed similar sentiments in his testimony.

“You could have a conversation,” Crew later said of Colangelo’s leadership. “But I’m not so sure it fell on ears that were willing to hear another direction.”

City employees also alleged Colangelo’s public comments regarding support for the city’s DEI efforts didn’t match his private statements at City Hall. 

The DEI investigation is Stockton’s first dip into a section of Stockton’s city charter that grants the council and its committees investigative power in relation to allegations of abuse and the mismanagement of city operations. 

The council’s Audit Committee — chaired by Vice Mayor Lee and composed of Councilmembers Michele Padilla and Michael Blower — was selected to take charge of the investigation during an August council meeting, despite doubts from some on the dais of whether an internal committee could remain impartial.  

“The diversity of our community is one of our richest assets,” Lee said at the beginning of Monday’s hearing.

“This is not about expanding the work of DEI here at the city, … this is about protecting the work that had already happened,” Lee added, referencing the council’s 2022 resolution declaring racism and inequity a “human rights and public health crisis” and committing to advancing inclusion.  

‘I didn’t feel comfortable pushing back:’ Nixon’s ‘demotion’ came as a directive from Colangelo 

Nixon’s transfer to HR — a “demotion” in the eyes of city officials, as described during Monday testimonials — came as a “shock,” according to Deputy City Manager Christy. 

“The work felt like it was going away, or at least being diminished,” said Christy, who was questioned at Monday’s hearing following Nixon’s testimony. Christy, on leave at the time of Nixon’s demotion, said she had received the news via text from Nixon and other city executive leaders. 

“From some of the other department heads that I spoke with,” Christy continued, “it was more of just acknowledging the chaos that had already been occurring over the last couple of months within the city.” 

Nixon came to work for the city in June 2024 as Stockton’s DEI officer, a brand new position created to help fulfill the council’s commitment to advancing DEI efforts at City Hall. Her role was to help the city find “diverse talent” and internally advance inclusivity.

City leadership scheduled Nixon’s transfer to human resources for early May. Nixon said she was informed of the decision in a meeting with city HR Director Rosemary Rivas, with whom she was having regular meetings following the January resignation of her previous boss former City Manager Harry Black.   

The HR role, titled supervising human resources analyst, was “created specifically” for Nixon, Rivas shared during her testimony before the committee. The reorganization, Rivas added, came as a directive from Colangelo during an April closed-door meeting with her and Crew, who serves as a deputy city manager for Stockton.

Colangelo, Rivas said of the alleged April meeting, reasoned that keeping the DEI position would place Stockton “on the radar” because of previously issued executive orders targeting DEI from President Trump’s administration. 

“We went back and forth,” Rivas said, describing her and Crew’s attempts to dissuade Colangelo from “eliminating” the DEI position all together, which included referring to council’s previous commitment to increasing DEI efforts in the city. “It was our goal … to try to keep her.” 

The demotion also came with a salary reduction, Nixon shared, although she did not specify the exact amount in her testimony.

According to an email from early May that included Colangelo, Rivas, Crew and Reed, Nixon’s new HR salary would be nearly half the amount of her previous role. 

“I tried to express my concern,” said Nixon, who was the third witness to testify at Monday’s hearing. “It was inferred … that was my only option to stay employed.” 

“I didn’t feel comfortable pushing back,” she added. 

Her short time reporting under Colangelo, Nixon said, came as a stark contrast to guidance she received from her previous supervisor, former City Manager Black, whom she met with regularly.

According to Rivas, Nixon was only given two weeks to decide whether to take up the new HR role. Nixon did accept the role, but ultimately left the city shortly after.

Email correspondence shows Colangelo’s conflicting narrative for transferring DEI functions to HR 

Colangelo, in a June 3 email to Vice Mayor Lee, defended Nixon’s HR transfer as Stockton “doubling down on effectiveness.” He told Lee that the decision would allow for “DEI functions” to integrate into a department that could “actually have maximum impact.” 

“It was absolutely the right first step,” Colangelo told Lee less than two months after the alleged April meeting with Crew and Rivas took place where Colangelo is reportedly to have said he wanted to remove the DEI role from the city manager’s office to better align with the Trump administration’s views on equity efforts. 

“A standalone DEI position operating in isolation simply can’t deliver the comprehensive change our community deserves,” Colangelo added in the email to Lee, which included Deputy City Managers Reed and Crew, referring to City Council’s 2022 resolution and the later appointment of a DEI officer. 

Colangelo’s email to Lee came in response to an email from the vice mayor the day before requesting for “an immediate update” of Stockton’s eliminated DEI department from Colangelo’s office. 

However, about two weeks later in the same June 19 news release from the city manager’s office defending the changes in the city’s DEI efforts, Lee thanked Colangelo for his work “for responding to my concerns, working to expand our diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and striving to honor the spirit of the 2022 Council resolution.” 

“After a thorough review of outcomes data and extensive conversations with the Interim City Manager, I’m energized about this evidence-based direction,” Lee had said in the release. “This is how we ensure Stockton reflects the strength and richness of all its people.” 

The relationship between Lee and Colangelo would soon continue publicly deteriorate, however, with the former interim city manager even later announcing an investigation into Lee regarding the vice mayor’s involvement with an event that received city funding.

Lee supported the hiring of Colangelo, a long-time event planner, in February despite his apparent lack of educational and work experience typically required of a city manager. The council ultimately opted not to reup Colangelo’s contract in August, instead replacing him with Crew as acting city manager until a permanent candidate for the role could be selected.

A second day of testimonies before the council’s Audit Committee continued Tuesday afternoon. This is a developing story. Check back later with Stocktonia for more details.