The city of Stockton spent $50,000 to subsidize a live entertainment event in which the city’s vice mayor was one of the featured performers to make up for a financial loss due to slow ticket sales, city email records show.
The city tapped its Risk Mitigation Fund in order for the Wild ‘N Out Live show at Adventist Health Arena to go forth as planned on May 24. The “epic night of comedy, music, and wild freestyle battles,” as the performance was marketed, was the live-version offshoot of a long-running MTV sketch comedy and rap show. Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee, a recurring cast member, was billed as one of the live performers.
Tina McCarty, director of Stockton’s Economic Development Department, said she “approved the use of up to $50K to help the promoter of Wild ‘N Out with potential losses, encouraging the show to continue without cancellation,” in a July 5 email to Deputy City Manager Chad Reed. She added that the city’s contribution “allowed the show to feel more comfortable with their potential loss including the need to drop pricing to encourage greater attendance.”
As news of the emails broke Tuesday, Lee issued a statement in which he alleged that surfacing the emails was an act of political retribution for his role in trying to ferret out budgetary and financial irregularities at City Hall. He questioned why the city manager’s office waited two months to request information about the event.
Later in the day, interim City Manager Steve Colangelo said he had launched an investigation into how $50,000 was disbursed without his knowledge or approval and, additionally, “whether boundaries between policymaking and administration were crossed,” referencing Lee’s involvement without using his name.
Lee, who took office representing South Stockton’s District 6 in January, has been the most outspoken member of the council. He has been especially vocal lately about plans to divert nearly $100,000 earmarked for the city’s efforts at diversity, equity and inclusion so Colangelo could hire the Lathrop city manager to act as a consultant.
Following the controversy, the council decided Colangelo should be replaced, whether temporarily or permanently hasn’t been made clear. He is expected to leave as interim city manager this month.
In announcing the Audit Committee’s unanimous recommendation for an outside investigation, Lee, the chair of that group, said Stockton residents “deserve the truth” and vowed to “hold those responsible accountable.”
“The integrity of our government is under attack from within,” Lee said. “If proven true, this represents not only a violation of state law but an abuse of power designed to silence staff and mislead our community. We will not allow political games to undermine transparency, accountability, and the hardworking people of Stockton.”
The Wild ‘N Out show wasn’t the first to receive a city bailout. The city kicked in $125,000 to subsidize the second year of the Stockton Lantern Festival, a show involving lighted displays, McCarty said in her email to the deputy city manager.
The city emails were first reported on Tuesday by ABC10.
As for Wild ‘N Out, Jason Perry, manager of ASM Stockton which manages the arena, told McCarty in a June email that the show incurred a $170,000 loss to its promoters, 5120 Entertainment and Rip Michael Entertainment.
McCarty said the $50,000 provided by the city was helpful to “narrow the loss gap for the promoter.” Canceling the show due to low ticket sales — fewer than 4,000 tickets had sold in the 10,000-seat arena the day before the show — would have deterred other promoters from booking acts in Stockton, she told the deputy city manager.
By dropping ticket prices for Wild ‘N Out Live, “ultimately the event was success for the city” due to a surge of walk-up ticket sales that boosted total attendance to 7,700.
“This particular show likely had too hefty of an overhead for our region given multiple entertainers, but the genre was embraced by the community and surrounding region,” McCarty wrote.
Want more? Sign up to get Stocktonia delivered to your inbox three days a week.