Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi announced Thursday that an independent investigation found insufficient evidence to substantiate three allegations against her public information officer, Jason Teramoto, but the city has not publicly released the investigative report.
The announcement prompted a response Friday from Councilmember Jason Lee, who disputed the mayor’s characterization of the controversy and released internal city communications documenting concerns raised by former City Clerk Katherine Roland before her departure.
In a press release, Fugazi said outside attorney Gregory Taylor examined allegations that Teramoto attempted to influence election procedures, involve the city clerk in political activity and manipulate City Council procedures against Lee.
The mayor said the investigation, dated Sept. 28, found none of the allegations sustained.
The city has not publicly released the investigative report, including details about the witnesses interviewed or evidence reviewed.
“Jason Teramoto was subjected to serious accusations that an independent investigation could not substantiate,” Fugazi said in the release. “The public deserves to hear those findings just as clearly as it heard the original allegations.”
Lee responded Friday that Roland, not he, had originally raised the complaint against Teramoto.
“The Mayor’s decision to address me in her press release is puzzling, considering I was not the complainant,” Lee said. “Former City Clerk Katherine Roland raised the complaint herself.”
Lee said the documents he released raise additional questions about the circumstances surrounding Roland’s resignation and the city’s handling of the allegations.
“The public deserves the full record, not selective political narratives,” he said.
Investigation follows allegations of election interference
The investigation stems from allegations that Teramoto attempted to influence the city’s handling of candidate materials during the June 2 primary election.
In July, then-City Attorney Marci Arredondo informed councilmembers in a July 1 email that Roland had accused Teramoto of attempting to interfere with the election and pressure her in her role as city clerk.
Arredondo also confirmed that Roland had requested an investigation.
In that same email, Arredondo cautioned councilmembers that taking adverse employment action against Roland near the time of her complaint could expose the city to retaliation claims because Roland could argue she was a whistleblower.
Lee’s attorney, Walter Mosley, had separately requested an investigation in June after raising allegations involving Teramoto’s communications with the City Clerk’s Office about District 1 council candidate Tamica Small.
Mosley alleged that Teramoto sought changes to Small’s ballot designation or candidate statement after the candidate challenge period had closed.
Teramoto previously denied the allegations, telling Stocktonia they had “zero merit.”
In Thursday’s release, Fugazi said Taylor’s investigation found that Teramoto had asked questions about election procedures but did not establish that he pressured the clerk to take improper action, attempted to interfere in an election or directed changes to City Council procedures.
“Political disagreement is not corruption,” the mayor’s release stated.
The city has not publicly disclosed the investigation’s full scope, methodology or supporting evidence. It also remains unclear whether the investigator examined allegations beyond those identified in Fugazi’s statement.
Records document separate dispute involving clerk’s office
Lee’s Friday response included correspondence between Roland and staff from California State Controller Malia Cohen’s office, along with internal city emails documenting a dispute over access to the City Clerk’s Office.
The materials include records about Roland’s resignation.
Among those documents are accounts from several clerk employees describing a July 30 incident involving Teramoto and Councilmember Brando Villapudua.
Records Research Specialist Sharidan McHan reported finding the two men inside an area used by the City Clerk’s Office without a clerk employee escort.
McHan wrote that Teramoto told her they were “just taking a tour” when she questioned their presence.
According to her account, both men displayed their access badges when she asked how they entered the area. McHan subsequently directed them to use the office’s public entrance.
A city door-access report shows that Teramoto’s badge opened a door to the area at 12:41 p.m. July 30.
The record corroborates his access to the area but does not establish that he accessed election materials or engaged in election interference.
Other employees documented portions of the encounter in emails to their supervisors.
Roland subsequently requested an audit of keycard access, explaining that the office handles confidential election records and that candidates and other unauthorized individuals should not enter without an approved escort.
The incident occurred separately from the original allegations concerning the June primary election. The mayor’s press release does not indicate whether Taylor examined the July 30 incident.
Lee also took his response beyond Stockton, posting an interview Friday with former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon, who has a national audience.
In a Facebook post accompanying the video, Lee described Stockton as a “news desert” and said he had met with Lemon to “set the record straight.”
Lee questioned how his efforts to seek scrutiny from federal, state and local oversight authorities had become grounds for criticism of his own conduct.
“I won’t allow the facts to be turned to lies,” Lee said.
Roland raised concerns before resigning
The documents also provide a timeline of Roland’s concerns about her employment and treatment by City Council members.
In a June 24 email to staff from the State Controller’s Office, Roland questioned the city’s employee evaluation process and alleged that councilmembers had criticized her handling of election matters after she reported Teramoto’s conduct.
Staff from the controller’s office acknowledged her message and arranged a telephone conversation, according to the correspondence.
The records do not establish that the controller’s office opened a formal investigation into Roland’s complaints.
Weeks later, on July 31, Councilmember Michele Padilla requested a special closed-session meeting to discuss possible discipline, dismissal or release of the city clerk.
Councilmembers Villapudua and Mariela Ponce supported the request.
The proposal came one day after Roland raised concerns about access to her office. Roland subsequently characterized the effort to discuss her employment as retaliation.
In an Aug. 3 email to the controller’s office, Roland wrote that she had never faced adverse employment action during her more than 11 years with the city until she reported Teramoto’s alleged conduct.
Mayor Fugazi scheduled a separate closed-session meeting for Aug. 4, but the city canceled it before the council convened.
The sequence of events documents Roland’s allegations and the councilmembers’ actions but does not independently establish that the proposed employment discussion was retaliation.
Roland submitted her resignation Aug. 31, effective Sept. 26, following weeks of uncertainty over her position and several closed-session discussions involving leadership of the City Clerk’s Office.
Her resignation letter did not state why she was leaving.
The California State Controller’s Office did not respond to Stocktonia’s questions about former City Clerk Katherine Roland’s allegations or whether the agency had opened an investigation into her complaints by publication time.
Lee and mayor continue public dispute
The latest exchange comes days after the City Council voted 4-2 to remove Lee as vice mayor, despite his attempt to resign from the leadership position.
Fugazi defended that decision Wednesday, saying the council had the authority to reconsider Lee’s appointment. Interim City Attorney Donald Larkin previously warned that removing Lee before his term expired carried some legal risk because the City Charter does not explicitly address revoking a vice mayor’s appointment.
In a separate statement Friday, Mosley disputed the council’s authority to remove Lee and alleged that discrimination and retaliation had contributed to his treatment at City Hall.
Mosley said Lee believes his race, sexual orientation and scrutiny of city spending have contributed to unequal treatment. Those allegations have not been adjudicated.
The attorney also criticized the city’s handling of the dispute between Lee and Fugazi, raising concerns about legal expenses and the potential cost of further litigation.
Fugazi’s Thursday statement took aim at Lee’s public allegations concerning her office.
“Councilmember Lee has spent months demanding accountability from everyone around him while advancing allegations against my office and its employees,” Fugazi said.
She also called on Lee to publicly acknowledge the investigation’s conclusions.
Fugazi, Teramoto and Villapudua did not respond to Stocktonia’s requests for comment by publication time.
Lee said Friday that he remained committed to the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury’s recommendations for improving city governance but would continue raising concerns about decisions involving public resources.
“Ending political turmoil does not mean remaining silent when the public record needs correcting,” he said.