Stockton City Clerk Katherine Roland has officially requested an investigation into Mayor Christina Fugazi‘s Public Information Officer, Jason Teramoto, over alleged election interference.
The probe request arrives amid a dispute over alleged political interference in Stockton’s June 2 primary election. It also follows allegations made by Vice Mayor and City councilmember Jason Lee — who alleged Teramoto inappropriately contacted Roland’s office regarding Stockton City Council District 1 candidate Tamica Small‘s ballot materials.
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According to the Stockton Record, citing a July 1 email from City Attorney Marci Arredondo, Teramoto is accused of “attempting to interfere with a recent election by improperly pressuring Roland as the city’s elections official.”
The email — which was obtained by The Record after being sent to Stockton city councilmembers — claims the City Clerk requested this election interference probe as of July 1. In the email, Arredondo wrote:
“Please be advised that today Katherine Roland has requested an investigation concerning the mayor’s public information officer Jason Teramoto. Katherine alleges that Mr. Teramoto attempted to interfere with the prior election and pressure Katherine Roland in her role as city clerk.”
Arredondo’s email also warns against councilmembers publicly speaking about the probe and about seeking any adverse action against Roland. It is made clear that such actions will be seen as a violation of privacy rights and retaliation, and will be handled accordingly. Arredondo wrote:
“Katherine has an argument that she is a whistleblower and that any adverse action taken near her alleging wrongdoing against the city is retaliation… Therefore, I would recommend that council not discuss said matters as doing so at the very minimum, could discourage others from making complaints.”
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The Stockton Record also reports that Arredondo’s email arrives after Vice Mayor Jason Lee’s attorney, Walter Mosley, issued a letter on June 16. In the letter, Mosley asked Arredondo to immediately open a probe into Jason Teramoto’s alleged communications with Roland’s office regarding Tamica Small’s ballot materials.
Mosley explained that Lee learned about Teramoto’s alleged actions and that the latter allegedly asked Roland’s office to change the Small’s materials. When told he wasn’t allowed to make the request, Teramoto allegedly said, “Be creative.” Mosley’s letter reads:
“The city clerk’s election function exists precisely so that ballot administration is neutral and rule-bound. Ballots are not press releases. Candidate statements are not talking points. And the clerk’s office should never be asked to ‘Be creative’ with a candidate’s official materials by a political communications employee assigned to the mayor’s office. An instruction to ‘Be creative’ is the opposite of what the law requires, which is fidelity to formal election procedure.”
Furthermore, in Mosley’s letter, it is mentioned that Lee requested Teramoto be placed on administrative leave pending investigation. The Record reported Lee asked, “be removed from any election-related or candidate-related duties, public-facing city communications, media contacts, stakeholder communications and contact with the city clerk’s office concerning elections, candidates, ballot designations, candidate statements or campaign matters.”
Elsewhere, in a June 19 statement, Lee said:
“No city employee, least of all one sitting in the mayor’s own office, should ever be in a position to alter a candidate’s ballot materials, or to use a taxpayer-funded position to pressure and undermine an elected official. I’ve asked the city to act now: preserve every piece of evidence, launch an independent investigation and remove Mr. Teramoto from any role touching our elections while the facts are determined. Stockton residents didn’t elect me to look away from this, and I won’t.”