Stockton councilmembers are responding to a new report criticizing their behavior on and off the dais — and some remain sharply divided over what caused the dysfunction.
Titled “Governance in Turmoil,” an investigation by the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury described the Stockton City council’s public infighting, leadership instability and failure to fully address past oversight recommendations as having weekend city governance. The newly-released report, which did not single out specific councilmembers but addressed the council’s actions as a whole, described on-going conflict, divided votes and staff interference.
The findings follow a turbulent year marked by leadership changes, public clashes among councilmembers and repeated disputes between Mayor Christina Fugazi and Vice Mayor Jason Lee, both on and off the dais.
Mayor Christina Fugazi said she respects the grand jury’s work and takes its findings seriously.
“The report identified real concerns about the functioning of Stockton’s City Council, including workplace safety, public trust, Brown Act compliance, and the need for clearer policies to protect employees, electeds and the public,” Fugazi said in a statement to Stocktonia.
Stockton residents elected councilmembers to solve problems, deliver services and conduct public business with professionalism, Fugazi said.
“They did not elect us to turn City Hall into a stage for personal attacks, political theater, intimidation, or disruption,” she said, adding that government works when elected officials understand their role: setting policy, respecting staff’s professional work, following the law and serving residents.
“Much of the dysfunction identified in and around this process has been driven by not respecting the role of being an elected,” Fugazi said.
The mayor’s recent comments surrounding the civil grand jury’s work marked a different tone from those she made last year. This is not the first time the civil grand jury has criticized Stockton governance.
During a late-August council meeting while discussing how the governing body should handle investigation requests, Fugazi said she did not “completely trust the grand jury” and wanted more than one agency to review city concerns, emphasizing that different entities might identify different issues and help create a fuller investigative record.
The civil grand jury is a panel of residents that reconvenes with new members yearly to investigate local government and reports on misconduct, inefficiency or mismanagement. It releases a report each summer detailing the investigations it’s conducted over the past year.
She said government works when elected officials understand their role: setting policy, respecting staff’s professional work, following the law and serving residents.
In her most recent comments, the mayor took an opportunity to directly criticize her vice mayor, Jason Lee, saying he has a responsibility to help govern the city, “not attack staff, destabilize meetings” or “take advantage of loopholes for personal gain.”
“Our city deserves elected leaders who know the difference between oversight and obstruction, debate and dysfunction, advocacy and intimidation,” Fugazi said.
Lee, in a separate written statement, said the report confirms concerns that residents, city employees and community leaders have raised for more than a year.
“Stockton’s challenges were never simply about personality conflicts or politics — they were symptoms of a deeper failure in leadership, governance, transparency, and accountability,” Lee said.
Lee said residents should pay attention to what he described as a recurring theme in the report: that instability at the top of City Hall created instability throughout the organization.
The grand jury report raised concerns about interim leadership after the departure of former City Manager Harry Black, including the appointment of the former embattled interim city manager, and the absence of a permanent full-time city manager for much of 2025.
Lee said the report identified concerns about “the appointment and management of interim leadership, disruption of established governance structures, repeated departures from administrative norms, interference concerns, and a pattern of internal division that diverted attention away from delivering results for Stockton residents.”
At the same time, Lee said the report left out context. He pointed to concerns he has raised over the past year about the city’s DEI functions, legislative oversight, transparency requests, fiscal decisions and matters referred to outside agencies, including the State Controller’s Office.
“Those issues did not emerge in a vacuum,” Lee said. “They are connected to the larger governance concerns residents have witnessed in real time.”
Lee also pushed back against any suggestion that elected officials should be discouraged from communicating directly with the public.
“The Constitution protects free speech — not selectively, but for all elected officials,” Lee said. “Transparency, public accountability, and speaking honestly to constituents are not acts of misconduct; they are obligations of public office.”
The civil grand jury report criticized councilmembers’ use of social media and public forums, saying some public comments and online activity had contributed to division and damaged trust in city government. The report recommended that Stockton create written guidelines for how councilmembers use social media and public forums when discussing city business.
There is a difference between personal attacks and public accountability, Lee said.
“Throughout my service, my communications have been rooted in informing residents, documenting concerns, and ensuring government decisions are visible to the people who pay for them,” he said.
Councilmember Michael Blower said he agrees with the grand jury’s conclusion that public conflict and leadership instability have affected city governance.
“I think it’s unfortunate when you have all the infighting that goes on,” Blower said. We don’t always have to agree on things, but it’d be nice if there was a little more decorum.”
Asked what the council should do next in response to the report, he said members should “try and get along better.”
Blower said the report reflects much of what has happened at City Hall over the past year.
“It’s been a pretty tumultuous time since, well, really ever since the new mayor and councilmembers came on board,” Blower said. “It’s definitely been a bumpy ride.”
But the second-term councilmember took issue with the report’s broad criticism of the council as a whole, describing the report’s narrative as having painted things in broad strokes.”
“Frankly, I don’t think the entire council has been the problem. Not speaking for anybody else, but speaking for myself, I know I’ve never raised my voice at the dais,” he said. “I’ve never yelled at anybody, so it’s not all of us. Just some of us that need to work on some of these issues.”
Councilmembers Mario Enriquez, Mariela Ponce, Michele Padilla and Brando Villapudua, but did not respond to Stocktonia ‘s requests for comment by publication.
The civil grand jury recommended that councilmembers receive training on the Stockton City Charter, council conduct, ethics rules and city spending procedures. It also called for stronger local ethics rules, social media guidelines, local campaign contribution limits and steps toward creating an independent ethics commission.
The City Council must formally respond to the report’s findings and recommendations by Sept. 23.
Fugazi said she will continue to support policies that strengthen transparency and accountability.
“I have always supported policies that strengthen transparency and accountability and insist that City Hall remain a place where staff can do their jobs, residents can be heard, and our City Council conducts this business with dignity and respect,” Fugazi said.
Lee said the report should not be treated as a political scorecard.
“This moment should not be treated as a political report card — it should be treated as a call to reform,” Lee said.