AT THE REQUEST of Stockton’s vice mayor, two state lawmakers are seeking an independent review of potential misconduct in the city’s elimination of its DEI department and the subsequent redistribution of the department’s funds.
The Stockton City Council, at the direction of Vice Mayor Jason Lee, concluded its investigation into the city’s handling of its diversity, equity and inclusion department with a final report last month.
The report, drafted by Lee, accuses Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi of hampering the city’s investigation into the former DEI department by refusing to compel former interim City Manager Steve Colangelo to testify.
Colangelo found himself under intense public scrutiny, from both the community and city officials, after it was reported that he had effectively dismantled how the city had previously run its DEI efforts.
DEI funds diverted for consultant
The City Council’s investigation into the controversy, which lasted nearly a month and was conducted by its audit subcommittee, found Colangelo had demoted Stockton’s only DEI officer, Preya Nixon, into a human resources role and rebudgeted nearly $200,000 of earmarked DEI money without council approval. The funds went, in part, to hire Lathrop City Manager Steven Salvatore for $11,000 a month to be a personal consultant for Colangelo.
The investigation also found an atmosphere of “chaos” and “fear” during Colangelo’s tenure at City Hall, according to staff testimony relayed in the final report.
Colangelo was one of 10 current and former city officials subpoenaed to testify in the investigation and the only one who did not make himself available for questioning. He has yet to comply with the audit subcommittee’s witness order — which was signed by the city’s clerk and mayor — or publicly respond.
The city clerk, on behalf of the subcommittee, drafted a letter to Fugazi asking her to compel Colangelo to appear. In a response emailed on Nov. 17, Fugazi declined to enforce the subpoena requiring Colangelo to testify.
“Enforcing a subpoena in an environment already affected by personal conflict and public commentary could expose the City to unnecessary legal risk and could undermine the integrity of any findings,” Fuguzi wrote in the email.
During her testimony before the subcommitte, Nixon said Colangelo had called DEI “a liability to the city.” Nixon has since left her HR post.
In a letter last week, Sen. Jerry McNerney and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom called on the state’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee to audit the city’s DEI program, citing testimony from Nixon. The request was made on behalf of Lee.
The legislators’ joint request was shared by Lee in a Jan. 31 announcement to media.
“The Vice Mayor has reported that the State Controller may be planning to audit Stockton over alleged financial wrongdoing,” the two state legislators said in a letter in which they reiterated the investigation’s findings. “In light of the information above, we respectfully submit the Vice Mayor’s request to audit the City of Stockton’s DEI Program.”
Lawmakers respond
In a statement to Stocktonia on Wednesday, Ransom said the audit request is to investigate “potential malfeasance” by Colangelo.
“My role as a legislator is to follow established procedures and respond to district concerns appropriately,” said Ransom, a member of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. “I think it is unfortunate that the letter was leaked before the committee had an opportunity to vet the request. I will not undermine that process with additional comments or assumptions.”
A spokesperson for McNerney also refused to comment on the letter and referred Stocktonia to speak with Lee.
In a news release last week, Lee alleged that two high-ranking city officials — Deputy City Managers Chad Reed and Courtney Christy — were fired because of their testimony at the committee’s hearings.
A spokesperson for the city did not offer an explanation for Reed and Christy’s departure, which coincided roughly with the resignation of City Attorney Lori Asuncion following rumors of her dismissal.
It is unclear whether the two deputy city managers’ leaving had anything to do with their testimony during the subcommittee investigation.
“I am deeply concerned by the targeting and termination of whistleblowers who raised alarms about the elimination of DEI,” Lee said. “This is the equivalent of witnessing a bank robbery, calling the police, and then giving the robbers time to clean up the evidence before court.
“That should concern every resident and every oversight authority,” he added.
A spokesperson for Fugazi did not respond to Stocktonia’s request for comment.
This story originally appeared in Stocktonia.