More than four months after a civil grand jury warned that political infighting and failures in oversight had weakened Stockton’s government, City Council members gathered Monday to discuss how to fix those problems.
But as they examined the reforms they had unanimously endorsed, a familiar disagreement resurfaced: What should accountability look like when elected officials disagree over how the city conducts its business?
Monday’s study session brought councilmembers together to review their response to the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury’s “Governance in Turmoil” report, which identified problems involving council conduct, interference with city employees, financial oversight and ethics.
Although councilmembers broadly supported additional training and stronger policies, their discussion exposed unresolved disagreements over how consistently the city enforces its rules and whether elected officials should explain decisions that depart from staff recommendations.
The meeting also produced a possible next step on one of the grand jury’s most significant recommendations. Mayor Christina Fugazi asked city officials to bring a proposed ethics commission before the full council Dec. 8, a week earlier than initially planned. Interim City Attorney Donald Larkin indicated that date should be possible.
Henry L. Gardner, a former Oakland city manager, facilitated the discussion, encouraging councilmembers to speak candidly while emphasizing mutual respect and the need to find common ground.
From promises to policy
The June 25 grand jury report identified nine findings involving public disputes, leadership instability, interference with city employees and concerns about ethics and transparency.
On Sept. 29, the council unanimously approved a 36-page response, partially agreeing with all nine findings and accepting the report’s eight recommendations. The response committed Stockton to strengthening ethics rules, clarifying councilmembers’ responsibilities and establishing new oversight measures.
But councilmember Jason Lee questioned whether additional policies would accomplish much without consistent enforcement.
“We have a policy manual,” Lee said. “The question is, do we follow it and do we enforce it consistently?”
Lee, who said he filed a complaint with the grand jury over his concerns about Stockton’s governance, argued that simply acknowledging existing policies would do little to address the problems that prompted the investigation.
One of the most substantial disagreements emerged during a discussion of fiscal oversight and the council’s authority to depart from staff recommendations.
Lee argued that councilmembers should respect established evaluation procedures and explain decisions that contradict recommendations developed through those processes.
The discussion echoed a controversy identified in the grand jury report involving housing funds. Investigators noted that city staff evaluated funding applications and used an artificial intelligence tool to help verify their scoring, but the council ultimately awarded money to applicants who received lower scores.
Other councilmembers defended their authority to exercise independent judgment, emphasizing that staff recommendations do not bind elected officials.
“Ultimately people voted us and they didn’t vote staff,” Fugazi said. “And we will have to be held accountable for the decisions that we made.”
The exchange underscored a central challenge facing the council: determining how to strengthen accountability without limiting elected officials’ authority to make policy decisions.
Ethics commission could return Dec. 8
Councilmembers also discussed progress toward establishing an independent ethics commission, which the grand jury recommended as a way to strengthen oversight of city officials.
The council’s Legislation and Environmental Committee previously examined ethics commissions in other California cities and began developing a proposal tailored to Stockton. However, questions remain about how the city would appoint commissioners, fund the body and define its enforcement powers.
Fugazi suggested bringing the draft before the full council Dec. 8 to allow members to review it and propose changes before the end of the year.
Gardner questioned whether councilmembers outside the committee would have sufficient time to examine the proposal before voting, prompting discussion about circulating the draft in advance.
Under the city’s approved response, officials must demonstrate measurable progress toward establishing an ethics commission by Dec. 31, with the goal of making it operational by January 2028.
Deadlines and unanswered questions
The council also discussed training requirements intended to clarify elected officials’ responsibilities under Stockton’s council-manager system, which generally requires councilmembers to work through the city manager rather than independently direct employees.
City officials plan to bring additional training and proposed revisions to ethics and public communication policies before the council in December.
Larkin acknowledged that Stockton’s existing ethics policy offers limited guidance beyond legal requirements, raising questions about how the council should define and enforce standards of conduct.
Lee also questioned whether the city applies its rules consistently, particularly when handling offensive language during public comment and determining whether elected officials have crossed ethical boundaries.
Gardner cautioned that the city’s ambitious reform schedule could prove difficult to meet with several deadlines approaching during the holiday season.
The city’s response also commits officials to maintaining a public tracking system documenting each recommendation, the department responsible for implementing it and evidence of completion.
That system aims to address a recurring problem the grand jury identified: Stockton’s failure to fully implement recommendations from previous investigations.
The discussion came amid continuing political disputes and leadership changes at City Hall. On Oct. 13, the council voted 4-2 to remove Lee as vice mayor, while interim City Clerk Bonnie Paige announced her resignation weeks after taking the position.
With the city’s first reform deadlines approaching, councilmembers must now determine how to turn their commitments into policies — and whether they can agree on the standards they will hold themselves to.