Stockton City Council will move forward with the censure process initiated against District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla, who is facing scrutiny over her use of taxpayer funds for a community event where political candidates spoke onstage .
Padilla held a public cookout on July 20 at Michael Faklis Park in north Stockton. At the event, four candidates running in the Nov. 5 general election — city council candidates Jason Lee and Mario Enríquez, mayoral candidate Christina Fugazi, and San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors candidate Mario Gardea — spoke onstage.
Some candidates' comments conveyed specific messages about the November election, which led two councilmembers to file a complaint with the city clerk's office.
In the complaint, District 3 Councilmember Michael Blower and District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua alleged that Padilla violated Council Policy 5.10, which sets guidelines on how discretionary funding can be used by councilmembers and the mayor. They claimed Padilla used over $10,000 in discretionary funds "to host a community event that became political."
Councilmembers receive $15,000 in discretionary funds each year, while the mayor receives $60,000. The council is barred from using the money on activities or events that are political or religious in nature, according to the policy.
At Tuesday's meeting, councilmembers had the opportunity to stop the censure process , but they ultimately chose to move forward with it.
An ad-hoc committee was formed and tasked with determining if the event was political in nature, determining whether the councilmember broke council policy, and providing a recommendation on whether she should be censured.
Mayor Kevin Lincoln appointed District 2 Councilmember Dan Wright and District 4 Councilmember Susan Lenz to serve on the ad-hoc committee with him.
Before the decision to form the ad-hoc committee was made, Padilla accused her colleagues of "(fanning) the flames of controversy" and expressed disappointment in them speaking to local media outlets about the issue.
She singled out Blower, Wright, and Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley, claiming the three decided that she is guilty "without even so much a call or a conversation."
"This isn't about ethics. This is about silencing someone who isn't a member of their bought and paid political clique and agenda. I'm sorry I don't want to join the Mickey Mouse Club. That's not me," Padilla said.
The councilwoman was adamant that the public cookout was "designed to foster safe, family fun," and said she introduced the political candidates as her "friends."
"The fact is that this was not a political event whatsoever. There was no intention whatsoever. There was no program. There was no agenda," Padilla said. "The candidates attended not even knowing I was planning to call them up on stage."
However, not everyone was convinced.
David Scatena, a Stockton resident of more than five decades, said he "could not remember ever having read or been made aware of such unethical activities ... or actions" by a councilmember before learning about these allegations.
"I am deeply concerned about Ms. Padilla continuing to undertake activities under the guise of a councilmember, that are unacceptable to me and Stockton taxpayers," Scatena said. "Ms. Padilla, in my opinion, frequently crosses the lines into unethical activity and actions that are not in the best interest of the citizens of Stockton, or the council."
Joey Veltri, on the other hand, said he's been friends with Padilla for over 40 years and has never witnessed the councilwoman "do anything wrong with intent to break the rules."
"If you know Michele, you would know that her constituents love her and her friends love her even more," Veltri said. "In her first year in office, she put on this first annual community barbecue. She invited her constituents, friends, and the city as a whole. She never once advertised or planned or premeditated anything but a community barbecue. It's obvious Councilwoman Padilla is being singled out and attacked by her fellow councilmembers."
Esperanza Vielma, a resident in the councilwoman's district, said Padilla "has consistently demonstrated a commitment to our community, showing up at events, engaging with residents, and working tirelessly to represent our interests."
"We need to remember that we are in the midst of a political season, and during this time, both elected officials and candidates are naturally more visible, as they should be," Vielma said. "To scrutinize these actions as potential policy violations sets a dangerous precedent."
Andrew Abbott disagreed. He said there's been "a lot of bad news" coming from the city council lately, with most of it seemingly surrounding Padilla. He called for the councilwoman to resign and cooperate with any future investigations.
"It's on video, and unless we're not to believe our eyes and ears, it's definitely a violation of council policy and possibly felony misappropriation of public funds, which she still somehow denies," Abbott said. "Stockton is a great place, but we have a long and sad history of political malfeasance behind us ... and that's where it should be, behind us, not before us right now."
There currently isn't a meeting date scheduled for the ad-hoc committee, according to the city calendar. In addition to the censure, the city could also revoke Padilla's reimbursement privileges, demand restitution, report the expenses as income to the councilmember, or recommend criminal prosecution of misuse of public resources.
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: Stockton City Council moves forward with Michele Padilla censure investigation
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