Chaos at city hall continued Tuesday as Stockton City Council members discussed investigations into elected officials, prompting concerns about the cost and fairness of the probes.
The council took up three items involving separate investigations. They included a referral to the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury and the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office regarding alleged Brown Act violations, an investigation into the possible misuse of DEI funds and a review of mitigation funds for the Wild N’ Out event at Adventist Health Arena.
Alleged Brown Act violations
City Attorney Lori Asuncion opened the first item by explaining to the council that she needed clarification on a vote the council took on July 15. The item involved allegations, made without evidence, by Fugazi and District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua against Vice Mayor Jason Lee and District 4 Councilmember Mario Enríquez.
In a June 26 news release, Fugazi accused Enríquez of engaging in repeated discussions with other councilmembers about the replacement of former Interim City Manager Steve Colangelo. Fugazi did not provide additional details. At the time, neither she nor her public information officer, Leenisha Ward, responded to questions from The Record about the contents of the news release…