This is the first in a series of articles examining records of the first-term Stockton councilmembers Mariela Ponce (District 2), Mario Enriquez (District 4) and Jason Lee (District 6)
In emails to City Council District 2 residents, Stockton councilmember Mariela Ponce sometimes signs off with a simple slogan: “I work for you!”
But throughout 2025 — the first year on the dais for Ponce and two other members of Stockton’s seven-person City Council — the District 2 councilmember seldom explained publicly exactly what she’s doing for her constituents.
Throughout the year, Ponce rarely spoke at City Council meetings, and answered no questions from Stocktonia about her decisionmaking during her time in office.
The councilmember’s first year in office followed a low-profile campaign in which she was absent from candidate forums, rarely responded to reporters’ inquiries and received just two campaign donations, according to her campaign paperwork.
In February, Stocktonia invited Ponce for an on-camera interview to discuss her accomplishments in office. Stocktonia also sent her a list of questions about her accomplishments, attendance record, discretionary spending and work with constituents.
She sent no response.
After 17 months on the City Council, Ponce is no longer a political outsider running her first campaign: instead, she’s one of the seven most politically powerful people in Stockton, the primary city government representative for more than 51,000 residents.
During that time, Ponce has participated in critical decisions with massive consequences: the council’s ousting of its city manager and hiring of an interim city manager with no known city government experience; its passage of a nearly $1 billion 2025-2026 budget; and numerous votes to open investigations and approve public contracts.
Throughout her first year, Ponce held influential and coveted roles on City Council committees dedicated to tackling some of Stockton’s biggest issues, including homelessness and crime.
And she remains among the privileged few allowed access to confidential city meetings, including union negotiations, hiring discussions, and decisions about how to handle lawsuits by and against the city.
To build a picture of what Ponce did during her first year in office, Stocktonia drew on council meeting minutes; city attendance and discretionary spending records; councilmembers’ calendars and emails, obtained under public records laws; county voter records; and interviews with residents and current and former officials.
Stocktonia’s reporting found:
- Ponce missed far more City Council meetings than did other first-year councilmembers. Of the City Council’s 37 meetings last year, Ponce missed seven. Vice Mayor Jason Lee and Councilmember Mario Enriquez — the two other councilmembers new to the dais last year — missed zero council meetings.
- Ponce’s attendance at council committee meetings was worse than that of her first-year colleagues. Ponce missed four of her nine committee meetings in the period Stocktonia examined. Lee missed one of his 23 meetings, and Enriquez missed zero of 14.
- On major decisions where the council was divided, Ponce almost never participated in debate or explained her vote. Of the 28 divided votes Ponce participated in during last year’s open-session meetings, she explained her decision during the meeting for just four of the votes, a review of council agendas and footage shows.
- A one-month sample of first-year councilmembers’ official calendars shows Ponce spent the fewest hours on city events and appointments during the month examined. Ponce spent about eight hours on five commitments in September 2025, according to her calendar. Enriquez spent roughly 34 hours on 25 commitments, and Lee spent about 10 hours on 11 commitments.
- A one-month sample of first-year councilmembers’ emails shows Ponce had far fewer discussions via her official email account than did her fellow first-year members. Ponce had 12 email exchanges with city leaders, residents and others in the month examined, while Enriquez had 54, and Lee had 140.
- Of the discretionary money councilmembers receive to support community activities and events, Ponce left most of hers unspent in the time period Stocktonia examined. From January through late November 2025, she spent about $4,000, while Enriquez spent about $11,000 and Lee spent about $12,000, city records show.
Without commenting on Ponce specifically, former District 2 councilmember Kathy Miller said she believes Stockton often elects “uncommitted and unqualified” local officials.
“Sometimes, people run for City Council and they don’t have a clue” why they’re running, Miller, who also formerly served as a county supervisor, said.
“The first question you have to answer is, why are you running? What do you want to do? What is motivating you to take that on?”
“People have to say, ‘I’ve met this guy’ “
The city’s smallest district by population, according to redistricting data, District 2 lies in northeast Stockton, roughly between Mosher Creek and the Calaveras River to the north and south, and El Dorado Street and Route 99 to the west and east.
Blanketed in tract homes and apartment complexes, it’s home to the highest percentage of Asian-Americans of any council district at 39%, according to redistricting data. The second-largest group is Hispanic residents, at 34%. Roughly a quarter of District 2 speaks an Asian language at home, data shows.
A handful of busy commercial corridors slice through the district’s neighborhoods, and it’s dotted with parks: Panella, Angel Cruz, Holiday, Weberstown and others. Cesar Chavez High School stands on the district’s eastern edge.
In November 2023, Ponce filed paperwork to run for District 2’s council seat. At first, local election officials wouldn’t put her on the ballot, claiming that she wasn’t a registered voter and that two signatures on her nomination papers were invalid, according to court records.
But after Ponce sued election officials, they acknowledged they’d made a mistake about her registration, and agreed to give her extra time to provide valid signatures, court records show.
Winning a City Council seat typically requires legwork, former District 2 councilmember Dan Wright, now a member of San Joaquin Delta College’s board, told Stocktonia.
“If you yourself are not walking districts as a candidate, you’re not going to win. People have to say, ‘I’ve met this guy, I’ve talked to her, or him,” he said.
Yet in the following months, Ponce did little public campaigning, hosting no publicized events and rarely returning reporters’ calls and emails.
She did appear in several posts on the 209 Times — a website and accompanying social media account run by a political consultant — throughout her campaign.
“Ponce’s platform emphasizes the importance of offering alternatives to gang involvement by providing accessible and engaging activities for young people,” one post said, alongside a picture of Ponce and Derek Graves, Jr. at Unity Park.
Graves is Chavez High School’s head football coach, a city planning commissioner and sits on the board of San Joaquin County’s bus system.
When Ponce pulled off a surprising March primary victory — besting two candidates, including former Stockton mayor Anthony Silva, to head to the general election runoff — she said little about what contributed to her win.
“The people that matter, the voters of District 2, know the work I’m putting in, and that’s all that matters,” she told The Record.
By the time she defeated then-city planning commissioner Waqar Rizvi in the general election, Ponce’s campaign had reported just two donations: $5,500 from then-candidate Lee, and $3,000 from Robert Beadles, a Nevada-based Republican megadonor.
The only other names that appear in her campaign committee’s records are Jazmine Hernandez and Jay Hernandez, who are listed as the campaign’s treasurer in different documents.
The City Council appointed a Jazmine Hernandez to represent District 1 on the Planning Commission in August.
Hernandez didn’t respond to an emailed question about whether she’d worked on Ponce’s campaign. Ponce didn’t respond to a question about why her campaign documents listed two treasurers.
Finally, on Jan. 7, 2025, Ponce was sworn into office along with Enriquez, Lee and Mayor Christina Fugazi on the stage of The Bob Hope Theatre.
“To the residents of District 2: you chose hope, representation and progress. You chose someone who will always put the needs of our community above special interests,” Ponce said during a brief speech under the spotlight.
Among others, Ponce thanked Beadles and 209 Times founder Motecuzoma Sanchez after her victory.
“To … Mr. Robert Beadles, Motecuzoma Sanchez … your endorsement and belief in me mean the world to me. More than words can express.”
Where’s Ponce?
Once in office, Ponce took her first major action as councilmember on Feb. 4, proposing to appoint Steve Colangelo as interim city manager after the council forced the resignation of former City Manager Harry Black.
At the Feb. 4 City Council meeting, a motion by Ponce to immediately hire Colangelo overrode an existing motion on the floor to postpone his appointment due to a lack of information about his qualifications.
In her motion to appoint him, Ponce praised Colangelo. “I believe his leadership, experience and commitment to Stockton progress can make the right choice to help guide our city through this transition,” she said. The council ultimately hired Colangelo in a 4-3 vote.
But Ponce’s starring role at City Council would be short-lived.
Throughout 2025, she was frequently absent from meetings, minutes show.
Of the council’s 36 meetings last year, Ponce was absent from seven, an attendance rate of about 81%. She missed the closed-session portion of two additional meetings, but attended the open session, minutes show.
The other first-year councilmembers, Enriquez and Lee, had perfect attendance last year, minutes show.
Ponce’s absences caused her to miss important votes — including a May decision on whether to send an update to the county civil grand jury after its 2024 report found that “city government is hampered by a threatening work environment created by the continued harassment and bullying by (209 Times).”
Sanchez, who runs 209 Times, has repeatedly dismissed the report as illegitimate.
Ponce also missed an initial debate over new rules for street food sales that would directly impact sellers at Angel Cruz Park, in the southwest corner of her district. Enriquez drafted the new rules, which ultimately passed.
Perhaps Ponce’s most noticeable absence was from last year’s State of the City event — an annual meeting resembling an expo for businesses, nonprofits and city departments, where the mayor traditionally gives a speech.
As presiding officer over council meetings, it’s up to Fugazi to decide if a councilmember’s absence is excused. The mayor did not respond to questions about Ponce’s absences.
Beyond attending regular City Council sessions, whether a councilmember shows up to their committee assignments is a strong indicator of whether they’re doing their job, according to Miller.
When the new councilmembers took office, Fugazi assigned Ponce to the Ad-Hoc Committee on Homelessness, the Ad-Hoc Charter Review Committee, the Community Improvement and Crime Prevention Committee and the Budget Committee, a list of appointments included in the Jan. 7 council agenda shows. The council unanimously approved the assignments.
But Ponce was frequently absent from her committees last year, according to an attendance report from the Stockton City Clerk’s Office.
From Jan. 1 to Nov. 5, Ponce was absent from four of her committees’ nine meetings, an attendance rate of about 56%, the report shows.
During the same timeframe, Enriquez missed zero of his 14 committee meetings, the report shows. Lee was absent from one of his committees’ 23 meetings.
Ponce was most frequently absent from the Crime Prevention committee, missing three of its four sessions.
Her absences meant she missed discussions about towing abandoned vehicles, stopping red light violators, cleaning up graffiti and addressing illegal sex work in Stockton, among other issues, meeting minutes show.
In November, Fugazi removed Ponce from the committee, replacing her with Enriquez.
There may be good reasons for Ponce’s absences. In addition to being a councilmember, Ponce is a healthcare worker, and has a young child, according to Councilmember Michele Padilla.
Ponce sent no response to emailed questions about the reasons for her absences, and about whether she believes they impacted city business.
“Doing what she signed up for”
Two councilmembers said they couldn’t recall Ponce proposing any new policy during her first year in office.
“I can’t think of anything, specific, measurable, something that started from A to Z … that was an actual policy idea that came to fruition,” said Enriquez.
“My impression is, I know she’s only made it to one meeting, and I don’t recall her saying very much,” said Blower, who chairs the Crime Prevention Committee.
There’s no shortage of work to be done. District 2 faces problems with crime, languishing shopping centers, traffic, homelessness, issues and risks associated with its waterways and more, according to Wright and Miller.
While in office, Wright also spent lots of time pushing for economic development in the area, he said. “There were (multiple) strip malls in District 2 with dead space,” Wright said. “That’s a concern … If we don’t keep those malls full, then it leads to blight.”
To the list of issues facing District 2, former and current district residents Alexis Carolyn Jones and Sharon Bianchini added hit-and-run collisions and fireworks.
“This is something that I want her to do: (we) have to get some kind of control on the fireworks, Bianchini said. “It is … bigger than the city of Stockton ever had.”
While Ponce may not appear active in public meetings, she does contribute to conversations with fellow councilmembers behind-the-scenes, said Padilla.
“She has been very active with respect to myself and the homeless committee,” Padilla, who chairs the committee, said.
Padilla believes Ponce’s relative silence at public meetings reflects the District 2 councilmember’s savvy, she said.
“She’s a very intelligent woman, and I know she sees the division and the chaos, and I just personally look at it as a smart way of not getting involved. And just doing the work that she signed up for,” Padilla said.
Controversial votes unexplained
Though Ponce may have proposed no policies of her own, she participated in many significant and sometimes divisive votes on the City Council last year.
But for decisions where the vote was split — indicating councilmembers didn’t all agree on the issue — Ponce rarely explained why she cast her vote one way or the other.
Throughout 2025, Ponce participated in 28 open-session votes where councilmembers were divided on the issue, sometimes with one or two councilmembers disagreeing with the majority, or with the council narrowly split 4-3.
Ponce participated in discussion of the issue in just four of those cases, according to Stocktonia’s review of council meeting footage.
Those cases included the council’s February vote on whether to hire Colangelo; an August vote on whether to investigate if Lee committed wrongdoing surrounding Stockton’s live Wild ‘N’ Out show; and votes in November about allowing the construction of a new Jack-in-the-Box in District 1 and about supporting nonprofit Service First with city money.
But more often, the reasoning behind Ponce’s votes remained unspoken during those meetings.
In March, the councilmember cast the sole dissenting vote against offering tax incentives to a new Home Depot distribution center at the Port of Stockton.
She didn’t participate in discussion on the proposal, and didn’t explain her “no” vote.
In April, Ponce offered no explanation for votes she cast during a debate over whether to begin the process of giving a homelessness services contract to a recently-established nonprofit.
During debate on the issue, Ponce first backed Councilmember Brando Villapudua’s motion to force a vote and end discussion, despite the fact that she hadn’t participated. The motion failed.
Then, Ponce voted against a motion to postpone a decision on the issue while city staff did more research on the nonprofit. That proposal passed 4-3.
In Miller’s opinion, justifying your vote to your constituents is among a councilmember’s greatest responsibilities.
“To just walk in and just cast a vote? That’s nothing … that doesn’t tell them that you understand what’s going on, it doesn’t tell them why you are supporting or not supporting a position, that doesn’t give enough information at all,” she said.
“It doesn’t have to be elaborate. But you should explain your damn vote.”
One instance where Ponce did explain her vote was during an Aug. 26 debate over whether the city should hire outside lawyers to investigate whether Lee improperly benefitted from a live performance in Stockton of the comedy show Wild ’N Out.
“Our residents need to trust that their elected leaders are not misusing funds or seeking personal gain, and that transparency guides our decisions,” Ponce said.
But overall, the councilmember rarely spoke during meetings. Throughout 2025, Ponce spoke for only about 14 minutes and 40 seconds total during open-session council meetings, according to a Stocktonia analysis using SeeGov, an online tool for tracking discussions at public meetings.
Of that time, roughly four minutes and 45 seconds — or about 32% of Ponce’s total speaking time — occurred on Jan. 7, when she delivered her swearing-in speech.
Eight hours
What councilmembers do in public meetings is only half the picture.
One record of how councilmembers carry out their duties outside meetings is their official public calendar.
To get a sense of how Ponce carried out her off-the-dais duties last year, Stocktonia obtained her September 2025 calendar from the city under public records laws. Stocktonia also requested Enriquez’ and Lee’s calendars from that same month.
Ponce spent far less time on official appointments and events than did Enriquez and Lee, according to the councilmembers’ calendars.
In September, Ponce had five appointments scheduled, her calendar shows. Enriquez had 25, and Lee had 11.
Events Ponce attended included a Stockton Ports game featuring a celebration of the Delta Sunrise little league team; a groundbreaking ceremony for the BeWell health campus; a 9/11 remembrance ceremony; and a children’s literacy event at Weber Point.
In total, Ponce’s calendar says she spent about eight hours on appointments and events, while Enriquez spent about 34 hours and Lee spent roughly 10 hours, according to their calendars.
Positions on the City Council are considered part-time. After voting this month to increase their pay by about 30%, councilmembers now make $40,000 annually.
Ponce sent no response to questions about how much time she spends meeting with constituents, and what events she held or attended in District 2 — in September, or throughout her first year in office.
“There could be some behind-the-scenes work where she’s encouraging people to come speak before council, there could be work where she’s supporting a nonprofit in her district,” he said of Ponce.
To gauge whether that’s the case, Stocktonia obtained a one-month sample of email exchanges from Ponce’s city email account through a public records request.
Stocktonia also obtained Enriquez’ and Lee’s emails from the same month, September 2025.
The records revealed that Ponce took part in far fewer email exchanges about city business than did her fellow first-year councilmembers.
While Lee initiated or participated in 140 exchanges with officials, community organizations, residents and others, and Enriquez participated in 54 such exchanges, Ponce took part in 12, the councilmembers’ emails show.
Three of the 12 email conversations were about residents’ concerns about homeless encampments. Ponce told the residents to submit an AskStockton complaint, and in one case forwarded the concern to then-acting City Manager Will Crew.
Three of the email exchanges involved Ponce informing city staff she couldn’t attend a meeting or event. One was a conversation in which Ponce encouraged Crew to rehire Stanley McFadden as Stockton’s police chief when his contract expired.
In the remaining five exchanges, Ponce asked city staff questions, coordinated appointments and connected a resident of another district with their councilmember.
To be sure, the councilmember may have carried out more city business via email during months Stocktonia did not request, or may conduct most of her business by phone or in-person.
In one case, a resident struggled to contact Ponce — and showed up at a City Council meeting to demand a response from the councilmember.
“I just would appreciate if you can send the message to your (councilmember) Ponce to please return my calls, please return my email so that I can assist her,” Stefanie Alfaro told Fugazi at a July 29 council meeting, as Ponce sat beside the mayor.
Alfaro lives on the border of District 2 and District 3, she told Stocktonia.
“I don’t hear anything from (Ponce), and I’m sure everybody else here today and everybody who’s watching, they don’t hear nothing from her,” Alfaro said. Alfaro is now running for City Council in District 3.
Later that meeting, Ponce responded, “I have not received any such calls.”
She added that she’s available on her cell phone “for anyone with an honest concern or any ideas, and not political games.”
Finally, during a short break at a council meeting, Alfaro got to speak with Ponce.
“Her and I just discussed, you know, who she was, and then collaborating together … it was really nice to actually finally get to meet her. She shook my hand,” Alfaro said.
Ponce sent no response to a list of questions about how and when she communicates about her official duties and assists constituents.
She didn’t answer questions about how much of her communications happen via email versus on the phone or in-person.
With no response from Ponce about how she’s served her district, Stocktonia asked district residents themselves.
Using voter data obtained through a request to the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters’ office, Stocktonia put out calls to the phone numbers listed for 50 randomly-selected District 2 voters who participated in all of the last three elections.
Of those who agreed to be interviewed, none had heard of Ponce.
“I do not know anything about her. I don’t even know her name,” said Bianchini, the District 2 resident who was concerned about fireworks, said when asked if she’d interacted with the councilmember.
Jones, a District 2 resident until late 2025, also had never interacted with Ponce, she said.
“We didn’t have any local events, any community events, I haven’t ever even met her … it’s kind of like she’s there, we voted, I don’t see her active in anything,” Jones said.
Residents’ unfamiliarity with Ponce isn’t necessarily surprising: far fewer people typically vote in council races than in higher-profile contests, such as presidential, Congressional and California legislative races.
In 2024, only about 12,000 of the roughly 21,000 registered voters in District 2 cast ballots in the council race, according to county data. About 6,600 people voted for Ponce.
From January through late November, Ponce spent thousands of dollars less from her discretionary fund than her fellow first-year councilmembers did, according to city spending records Stocktonia obtained through a public records request.
Ponce spent roughly $4,000, Enriquez spent about $11,000 and Lee spent roughly $12,000, the records show.
Excluding expenses for official travel, such as hotels and flights, Ponce still spent the least at about $700. Enriquez spent about $4,700 excluding travel.
Lee’s non-trip-related spending was still roughly $12,000, as he used just $263 for travel, records show.
In addition to spending less overall, Ponce distributed her discretionary money among fewer organizations than did the other first-year councilmembers.
Ponce gave money to two non-governmental organizations, records show. On October 30, she gave 7th Inning Stretch LLC, the company that owns the Stockton Ports, $380, records show. And in April, she and three other councilmembers collectively gave $140 to the Italian Athletic Club.
The payment to the Ports appears to have gone toward buying the Delta Sunrise Little League team pizza during a game, according to one of Ponce’s September emails. The records didn’t specify what the athletic club money was for.
Meanwhile, Enriquez gave about $5,000 total to nine different organizations, including $2,000 to the San Joaquin Pride Center, the League of United Latin American Citizens and Pixie Woods Children’s Park, records show.
Lee gave about $5,000 total to three organizations: 7th Inning Stretch LLC, the Mary Graham Foundation and the South Stockton Vikings football and cheer program.
Each fiscal year, the City Council typically sets aside $15,000 in discretionary funds for every councilmember. Councilmembers have two years to spend it, before the money returns to the city’s general fund.
As of Jan. 1 — when Ponce, Enriquez and Lee’s terms began — each councilmember had between $7,200 and $7,600 left in their discretionary accounts, according to the City Clerk’s Office.
Under Stockton’s rules for councilmember discretionary spending, organizations seeking a slice of councilmembers’ funds must make a written request.
Ponce sent no response to questions about how many constituents, organizations or others had requested funds from her, how much the requests were for and whether they were approved.
“They’re responsible for this”
Stocktonia’s findings amplify the need for answers to the question that’s been brewing since Ponce was elected: Why?
Why would a councilmember seek office, then rarely explain how she’s using her power once she has it?
Ponce has never fully answered this question.
Yet Ponce isn’t the only one responsible for the quality of representation District 2 has received starting last year, according to Wright.
“Who’s mentoring her?” the former councilmember said. “I think that’s a question to ask. Because they’re also responsible for this.”
Sanchez didn’t return a requested phone call. Beadles, the Republican donor who contributed to Ponce’s campaign, didn’t respond to emailed questions.
Although Lee — the only other person who donated to Ponce’s campaign — didn’t agree to a phone call to discuss the councilmember’s performance, he has at times criticized her during public meetings.
“Councilwoman Ponce: You didn’t even respond (or) comment on why you were dissenting,” Lee said at a Sept. 9 session after Ponce silently voted “no” on a proposal.
“I’m confused at … people voting and not even discussing rationale for the public to consider,” he said.
Stocktonia also asked Jazmine Hernandez — the planning commissioner who appears to be listed as Ponce’s campaign treasurer — about her opinion of Ponce’s performance.
She sent no response.
Reporter Cassie Dickman contributed to this story.