At its special meeting Wednesday, Stockton City Council approved an inquiry into Vice Mayor Jason Lee and the referral of possible misconduct by former interim City Manager Steve Colangelo to criminal investigators — all amid some of the most explosive conflict that’s happened on the dais this year.
The meeting kicked off with ire from some in the audience regarding Mayor Christina Fugazi and Councilmembers Mariela Ponce, Michele Padilla and Brando Villapudua not attending a Nov. 6 special meeting to unpack claims of alleged misconduct by Colangelo.
At Lee’s request, City Council had voted Nov. 4 to hold the special session to discuss a city letter showing Colangelo had promised Service First of Northern California city money to bolster the nonprofit’s request for more than $8 million in state behavioral health funds without council approval — a possible violation of local law, as only City Council typically has the authority to spend any public money over $100,000.
That meeting fell through because a majority of councilmembers weren’t present, two of whom had voted to approve the date and time of the special session. Both Padilla and Ponce had supported the meeting, but were ultimately no-shows.
Fugazi said Nov. 4 she couldn’t attend due to a prior engagement. Villapudua said Wednesday he’d also had a scheduling conflict.
On Wednesday, many Stocktonians present weren’t happy about the lack of quorum for the previous special session.
“When there’s a committee and people don’t show up, that’s kind of scary. It kind of says, where’s our representation?” Diana Buettner said during the meeting’s public comment period.
“One has to wonder, was it coordinated?” Tamica Small asked. “It certainly looked that way.”
Much of the criticism focused on the mayor specifically.
“The Hispanic community feels betrayed. I feel betrayed,” said Alberto Gonzalez, who campaigned for Fugazi.
However, Fugazi wasn’t without her supporters, including former Stockton Councilmember Ralph Lee White.
“I think you’re doing a damn fine job,” he told her during public comment.
The Colangelo claim was the first issue on Wednesday’s council agenda, along with a proposal to refer his alleged misconduct to the San Joaquin County District Attorney, state authorities and a civil grand jury to investigate.
After Lee summarized his claims, fireworks began with Villapudua describing Lee’s questioning of the former interim’s actions as an attempt “to defame, to slander, to tear down” Colangelo.
Throughout the discussion, Lee insisted that the allegedly unauthorized promise of funding to Service First seen in Colangelo’s letter supporting the nonprofit’s project could set a dangerous precedent for the city. He argued it could pave the way for other city employees to take funding matters into their own hands in the future.
Service First’s president, Vernell Hill Jr., told the council during public comment Wednesday that his organization had acted appropriately.
“I completely reject any suggestion that Service First or myself has done anything unethical or improper,” he said.
After multiple procedural challenges and a 10-minute recess called by Fugazi following heightened emotions on the dais, the council voted 7-0 to forward the claims about Colangelo to authorities for possible investigation.
But the back-and-forth wasn’t over. Similar conflict broke out over a proposal by the mayor to form a temporary ad hoc committee to investigate alleged hostility by Lee toward staff and his fellow councilmembers.
At a City Council meeting Nov. 4, Fugazi said she felt threatened by things Lee said about her on social media. City staff played for councilmembers and the audience a Facebook video Lee posted earlier this year comparing Fugazi to President Donald Trump, among other comments.
Councilmember Mario Enriquez argued the mayor provided insufficient information about what she wanted to investigate.
“All I see is a whole lot of nothing,” he said.
Lee questioned whether the committee’s purview would be open-ended. Councilmember Michael Blower questioned language in the mayor’s proposal that could allow the committee to hire outside investigators, a power typically reserved for the full council.
The discussion was cut short when Villapudua called for a vote — a procedural move meaning no more debate could occur on the topic. Council voted 4-3 to create the temporary committee, which will consist only of Fugazi and Padilla.
Fugazi, Padilla, Ponce and Villapudua voted in favor of forming the committee to investigate Lee. Lee, Enriquez and Blower voted against it.
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