In a lively meeting this week, Stockton City Council narrowly passed a proposal to expand upon a completed investigation into whether Vice Mayor Jason Lee wrongly took part in the city’s bailout of an entertainment event earlier this year.
Mayor Christina Fugazi put the item on Tuesday’s meeting agenda.
The council also voted down Lee’s request to make the results of the original investigation public sooner rather than later.
In May, Jason Lee participated in a live version of Wild ’N Out, a comedy game show and rap battle, at the Adventist Health Arena.
The investigation into the show’s Stockton performance dates back to August, when the council narrowly voted to hire outside investigators to examine if Lee wrongly influenced city staff’s decision to compensate the live event for poor sales. Long before his election to council, Lee regularly appeared as a cast member on the show, though he and the event’s promoter have said the vice mayor did not make any money or dole out political influence for his participation.
Fugazi’s proposal at Tuesday’s meeting sought to expand the already-completed investigation to include the question of whether Lee should have recused himself from the August vote authorizing an inquest. Typically, recusals are necessary under California law when officials have a financial interest in the proposal being considered — but the exact nature of any suspected conflict on Lee’s part wasn’t clear from the council’s discussion.
The council ultimately voted 4-3 Tuesday to expand the inquiry, with Fugazi and Councilmembers Mariela Ponce, Michele Padilla and Brando Villapudua voting “yes.” Lee and Councilmembers Michael Blower and Mario Enriquez voted against.
The investigation as previously approved by the council in August has been completed, according to a report included in the meeting’s agenda. Under Tuesday’s proposal, the results will be released once it’s concluded.
The City Council meeting was also the first for newly-hired City Manager Johnny Ford, who served as a deputy city manager in Stockton roughly 15 years ago before working as the city manager of Compton. He’s also held other municipal jobs in various cities across the U.S.
“Coming back feels more personal,” Ford said in comments at the meeting’s close. “I believe in Stockton. I believe in the City Council.”
Finally, the meeting saw reactions from councilmembers to the north Stockton shooting at a 2-year-old’s birthday party that killed four and wounded 13 just over one week ago.
“To the families, I can’t even imagine their thoughts, their feelings, their pain,” Padilla said.
Blower echoed her sentiment.
“As a father, it’s unimaginable the thought of losing one of my daughters,” he said. “This is something that is going to be felt for years and years to come.”
This is a developing story. Check back at Stocktonia.org for updates.
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