When Mayor Christina Fugazi announced plans last month to overhaul Stockton’s government accountability rules, how she intended to carry out those plans remained unclear.
Now, it’s clear that the mayor intends to propose multiple changes to Stockton’s charter, or city constitution.
Fugazi unveiled her “Stockton Governance Reset” on July 8, several days after citizen investigators on the San Joaquin County Grand Jury reported finding that “a pattern of repeated conflicts” and an apparent “power struggle” had dominated the City Council since early 2025.
Conflict on the dais during that period was often between Fugazi and Vice Mayor Jason Lee, who represents District 6.
Years of investigations
Being under the grand jury’s microscope isn’t new for Stockton: In 2024, investigators found that people linked to the social media page 209 Times had used bullying and intimidation to gain influence within City Hall. 209 Times is run by political consultant Motecuzoma Sanchez, who sits on Stockton’s council salary setting commission.
In 2024, the grand jury determined that councilmembers who continued to act chummy with 209 Times representatives were enabling a breakdown of trust in government.
Since her election, Fugazi has sometimes been one of those councilmembers; she’s appeared in Facebook photos with Sanchez, publicly praised him and awarded him a city proclamation in March. The mayor also campaigned on 209 Times ahead of her election.
The government ‘reset’
But now, Fugazi says she’s embracing accountability following the grand jury’s new findings.
“Because of the scrutiny of the (last) grand jury report, I made a commitment that I was going to go through this line by line, item by item, recommendation by recommendation,” the mayor said at a July 8 City Council meeting.
The four-page flyer on the “Governance Reset” that Fugazi passed around featured more than 10 proposed reforms, including stricter enforcement of a city law barring councilmembers from interfering with the city manager, and new limits on councilmembers’ ability to launch investigations. The flyer was vague on the details.
But Fugazi’s comments at a weekend town hall revealed that she hopes to enact some of her ideas by proposing changes to Stockton’s city charter — something only voters can decide.
“Shouldn’t the people be the ones who hold their electeds accountable?” Fugazi said. “And if the charter is our constitution, that’s the teeth.”
Changing Stockton’s constitution
There are two ways to pursue a vote on changes to city charters in California, according to public communications consultant Kim Floyd.
A councilmember can propose an amendment, which the City Council must ultimately vote to put on the ballot, Floyd said. Citizens can also bring amendments to council, if they’re able to get 10% of voters’ support for the idea. Councils usually agree to send citizens’ proposals to a vote, she said.
Then, the city can either hold a special election, or the vote will happen at the next regular election, according to Floyd.
It’s unclear how many of her reforms Fugazi hopes to enact by changing Stockton’s charter. On Saturday, she said she may pursue a charter change for all of them.
When asked which reforms Fugazi plans to pursue as charter amendments, her spokesman said in an email that six are “potential subjects for legal analysis.” He didn’t respond to a question seeking to clarify.
Why change the charter?
Altering Stockton’s founding document would be a far more sweeping approach than what the grand jury called for after its most recent investigation. Its recommendations focused mainly on the City Council documenting reform efforts, with a few recommendations to rewrite policies and ordinances.
When asked why Fugazi’s plan goes so much farther than the grand jury’s recommendations, Teramoto said in an email that the plan “focuses on the larger systems that led to many of those recommendations in the first place.”
Fugazi’s plan “is not intended to substitute for, paraphrase, or dilute the City’s formal response to the Civil Grand Jury,” Teramoto said.
Under California law, a response approved by the full City Council is due by Sept. 23.
‘We’re adding some teeth‘
Some political organizers critical of Fugazi’s contact with Sanchez, the 209 Times founder, are closely watching the mayor’s response to the most recent grand jury investigation.
“While [the mayor’s plan] may be good overall, I would like to see interim action taken to address the Grand Jury report,” David Sengthay, president of Stockton Democrats Together, told Stocktonia Sunday.
Stockton cannot wait for a charter vote “when we have elected folks to the dais to self-regulate and do the work we expect them to,” Sengthay said.
For candidates seeking support from Stockton Democrats Together, shrugging off the grand jury’s recommendations may have political consequences.
Last month, the club unanimously passed a resolution disqualifying candidates who won’t pledge support for the grand jury’s policies from receiving the club’s endorsement or donations.
Those policies include creating a city ethics commission, local campaign contribution limits, transparency rules for political consultants and more.
Paying, receiving compensation from or coordinating with 209 Times or Sanchez’ other businesses would also disqualify a candidate for endorsement. So would hiring 209 Times or Sanchez’ other companies, or their associates, as campaign consultants, according to a copy of the resolution.
“A candidate who transacts with an entity that a Civil Grand Jury has found created a threatening work environment affecting every level of City government, and whose disentanglement from City government a Civil Grand Jury has twice formally recommended, is not a candidate this Club will support,” it says.
“We’re adding some teeth to this club,” Sengthay said at Stockton Democrats Together’s July 27 meeting, before the resolution vote. “If you want our endorsement, you’ve got to play by our rules.”
209 Times is ‘not setting policy‘
Fugazi attended the Stockton Democrats Together meeting to present her reform plan. Afterwards, she didn’t answer directly when Stocktonia asked whether she’d pick continued contact with 209 Times or the Stockton Democrats’ endorsement if forced to choose.
Fugazi described 209 Times as mostly irrelevant to her work as mayor.
“If there’s something that happens to be informative [on 209 Times], ok. But in terms of me, in government, there’s nothing on there for me in governance,” Fugazi said. “They’re not setting policy, they’re not talking about (legislation).”
At Saturday’s town hall, Fugazi acknowledged that she hadn’t followed the grand jury’s past advice to stop associating with 209 Times. “Members of council, including myself, have not followed that recommendation,” she told Stocktonia.
The mayor claimed she’d had “a lot less” communication with Sanchez throughout the past year.
Overall, Fugazi’s accountability overhaul would tackle the 209 Times’ unethical influence at City Hall, Teramoto said.
“The Mayor supports the underlying objective that outside individuals or organizations should not be allowed to interfere with City operations,” he said via email.
The mayor “does not, however, support enacting a City rule prohibiting elected officials from associating with, speaking to, or supporting a specifically named private person, political organization, social media outlet, or news organization.”
Does the public trust Fugazi to throw her support behind the letter — and spirit — of the grand jury’s advice, past and present?
“The proof is always in the pudding,” former deputy city manager and Stockton Democrats member Donna Brown said.