The Stockton City Council has scheduled a special meeting to consider the discipline, dismissal or release of a public employee and the appointment of a city clerk after confidential emails revealed allegations that Mayor Christina Fugazi's public information officer
pressured City Clerk Katherine Roland in her role as the city's elections official and attempted to interfere with the June 2 primary election.The special meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. on Aug. 4, includes two closed-session items: one to consider the discipline, dismissal or release of a public employee and another to consider the appointment of a city clerk.
The agenda does not identify the employee or employees involved because California's Ralph M. Brown Act allows certain personnel
matters to be discussed in closed session without publicly identifying the employee.
Roland details election-related allegations
The meeting comes after The Record obtained a confidential June 15 email sent to City Attorney Marci Arredondo and later shared with the city council in which Roland detailed allegations against the mayor's public information officer Jason Teramoto.
According to the email, Roland said Teramoto went to her office on April 22 and asked questions about the ballot designation for Stockton City Council District 1 candidate Tamica Small. Roland said she informed Teramoto that it was well past the date to dispute ballot designations.
"He brought a page that had information regarding her employment history with the probation department that had no source information nor her current last name," Roland wrote. "I told him that it was not evidence that her designation was invalid. I pointed out there was no source information, and it could have come from anywhere. He said that I could have just found it lying on the ground somewhere and decided to do something about the information. He wanted me to post a public alert, similar to a PSA, notifying the public of the improper ballot designation."
Roland said she told Teramoto that doing so would be entirely inappropriate. She cited the closed dispute period, said the candidate would have had an opportunity to provide documentation if the dispute period had remained open, and said she was required to remain unbiased in conducting the election.
"Violation could mean loss of my job and potential lawsuits," Roland wrote. "He asked who would sue me, then implied that I could take sides because no one would sue me, that 'he' can’t afford it because 'he’s $8 million in debt and is writing checks he can’t cash.' I thought he was referring to the current legal action with another candidate. He clarified he meant the vice mayor. He continued to pressure me until he left the office."
Roland said after Teramoto left, she was able to find supporting records for Small's ballot designation in one Google search using her current last name.
The next day, on April 23, Roland said she returned from a San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters luncheon and briefly met with Fugazi upstairs. There, she said, two members of the mayor's staff — Teramoto and Lynn Smith, executive assistant to the mayor — pressed her further about Small's ballot designation.
"I walked into the outer office, and Jason Teramoto greeted me with 'Do you have good answers for me?' Confused, I asked him what he was referring to. He was talking about Tamica Small’s ballot designation. I told him he was wrong, that I found information in one Google search," Roland wrote.
Roland added, "Lynn Smith, who was present, commented on it and asked what years I had found. I explained I found records to include the dates stated by the candidate under her current last name. Teramoto shook his head and said, 'You need to help her get some teeth.' I took him to mean the mayor and asked, 'What is it you’re asking me to do?' Teramoto said, 'Get creative.' I told him very clearly that I cannot take sides and my job is to remain neutral."
Roland also alleged that later that same day, Teramoto called and attempted to direct her to change council policy and subvert the existing process to censure Vice Mayor Jason Lee.
"I explained the policy," Roland wrote. "He wanted to change the policy to remove voting rights of a censured member. I explained that is a violation of voter's rights. He went through a slew of questions about changing the charter, council policy. He said he was just trying to cause chaos for the vice mayor. I told him to 'Stop trying to cause chaos, none of us appreciate it.' He attempted to direct me to change council policy and subvert the existing process. I told him he is not my boss and cannot direct me. That ended the call."
Investigation requested
The June 15 email followed another confidential email Roland sent to Arredondo on April 23 seeking advice about "the conduct of one of the mayor's staff members."
The allegations later became the subject of a June 16 letter from attorney Walter Mosley, who represents Lee. In the letter, Mosley asked Arredondo to immediately investigate Teramoto's alleged contact with the city clerk's office regarding Small's ballot materials.
Mosley wrote that Lee had been informed that Teramoto approached the city clerk regarding Small's ballot designation and candidate statement, questioned the designation and sought to have the city clerk's office change the candidate's materials.
Mosley asked the city to preserve potentially relevant evidence, conduct an independent investigation, place Teramoto on administrative leave pending the investigation and determine whether Teramoto acted at the direction of, with the knowledge of or with the approval of Fugazi or anyone else in the mayor's office. He also asked investigators to determine whether anyone in the city clerk's office felt pressured or influenced by the contact and whether similar contacts occurred involving other candidates.
About two weeks later, on July 1, Roland formally requested an investigation into Teramoto. In an email sent that day to councilmembers, Arredondo wrote that Roland alleged Teramoto "attempted to interfere with the prior election and pressure Katherine Roland in her role as city clerk."
Arredondo also warned councilmembers that any adverse action against Roland near the time of her complaint could expose the city to a whistleblower retaliation claim, writing that Roland "has an argument that she is a whistleblower."
City outlines authority
In a July 7 response, Arredondo told Mosley that under the city charter, the city clerk has exclusive authority over city elections and has requested the city attorney's office to assist in investigating the allegations of election interference outlined in his letter. Arredondo wrote that it was "unclear if anything can or will be disclosed once the investigation is completed."
Arredondo also wrote that the mayor's public information officer serves at the mayor's pleasure under the city charter and that the mayor has exclusive authority over the employee's performance, including discipline. She said neither the city attorney's office nor the city manager had the legal authority to place Teramoto on administrative leave or remove him from his public-facing duties, as Mosley had requested.
The letter said the city had directed appropriate departments to preserve records related to the matter. Arredondo also proposed that Lee and Fugazi participate in professional mediation to resolve their differences while "other mechanisms play out."
Arredondo is scheduled to resign as city attorney on Aug. 5 to join her family in starting a private law firm, according to Fugazi.
Lee seeks council action, requests FBI review
Lee has since asked the council to reconsider Teramoto's appointment and, in a July 27 news release, announced plans to introduce a motion before the city council on Aug. 18 to rescind Teramoto's appointment "following months of documented misconduct allegations, repeated concerns regarding election-related conduct, and the mayor's continued refusal to place her employee on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation."
Lee said the issue is no longer simply a personnel matter but a test of accountability, transparency and public confidence in Stockton's government.
"The public deserves to know that everyone in city hall is held to the same standard," Lee said. "When our city clerk documents serious concerns involving election-related conduct, when an independent investigation is requested, when evidence preservation is demanded, and when the response from leadership is to simply do nothing, public confidence suffers. Accountability cannot depend on who appointed the employee."
Lee emphasized that paid administrative leave is a standard employment practice intended to protect both the integrity of an investigation and the employee's rights while the facts are reviewed.
"This is not about punishment," Lee said. "It is about protecting the integrity of the investigation, protecting public trust, and ensuring that taxpayer-funded authority is not exercised while serious allegations remain unresolved. Instead, the mayor has allowed her public information officer to remain in one of the city's most visible positions despite months of documented concerns."
Lee also said he contacted the FBI and requested that federal authorities review the matter.
"I have asked the FBI to review the totality of the facts and determine whether any aspect of this matter, including allegations concerning election-related conduct or other reported activities within city hall, falls within federal jurisdiction," Lee said. "Whether any laws were violated is a determination for independent investigators, but I believe these allegations are serious enough to warrant that review."
Special meeting to consider city clerk appointment
It is unclear whether either closed-session item on the Aug. 4 agenda is related to Roland's allegations or the investigation into Teramoto. The agenda does not identify the subject of the public employee discipline, dismissal or release item or explain why the council will consider appointing a city clerk.
Fugazi, Teramoto and Roland have not publicly commented on the allegations. City spokesperson Tony Mannor previously said the city does not comment on personnel matters.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: New details in Stockton clerk's election interference allegations
