Two Stockton City Council members have called for a vote on whether to remove Mayor Christina Fugazi’s spokesperson, Jason Teramoto, after allegations that he attempted to interfere with the June 2 primary election by improperly pressuring City Clerk Katherine Roland in her role as the city’s elections official.
According to the city’s job specifications, the mayor’s public information officer oversees public information, communications, data analytics and performance management for the mayor’s office. The position advises city leadership on transparency initiatives, performance metrics, public education campaigns and media strategy, and works with community organizations, government agencies and city departments.
Under Stockton’s city charter, the mayor may appoint a public information officer, who serves at the mayor’s pleasure. The appointment must be confirmed by a vote of the full council.
Fugazi appointed Teramoto four months after her previous spokesperson, Leenisha Ward, left the mayor’s office in August 2025. The council unanimously confirmed the appointment at its Dec. 9, 2025, meeting. Public records show Teramoto earns an annual salary of $106,535.54.
At the July 21 council meeting, during the administrative matters portion of the agenda, Vice Mayor Jason Lee moved to place an item on a future agenda to reconsider Teramoto’s appointment.
Lee said the request stemmed from a July 1 email in which City Attorney Marci Arredondo informed councilmembers that Roland had requested an investigation into Teramoto over allegations related to the recent election.
In the email, obtained by The Record, Arredondo also warned councilmembers that taking adverse action against Roland soon after her request could expose the city to a retaliation claim, writing that Roland “has an argument that she is a whistleblower.”
The email followed 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 Stockton City Council District 1 candidate Tamica 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. According to the letter, Teramoto questioned the designation and asked the city clerk’s office to change the candidate’s materials. When he was told he should not be making that request, Teramoto responded, “Be creative.”
While Lee was making his request to reconsider Teramoto’s appointment, he cited Council Policy 4.02, which allows the council to reconsider an item if six months have passed since the meeting at which it was voted on.
Under Council Policy 4.02.010, councilmembers may request that an item be placed on a future agenda if at least one other councilmember supports the request. Such requests are often made during the administrative matters agenda item. District 4 Councilmember Mario Enríquez supported Lee’s request.
Lee’s request to reconsider Teramoto’s appointment came after the council discussed a separate investigation into the Office of Public Transparency, Information and Communication. Although Renne Public Law Group found no legal or policy violations, it concluded the process exposed significant governance vulnerabilities.
“I’m just perplexed on us discussing a better government for tomorrow when the subject of those emails that have been released is still here,” Lee said, referring to Teramoto.
Fugazi did not respond to The Record’s July 17 request for comment regarding Roland’s request for an investigation into Teramoto. During the meeting, she did not address the allegations against Teramoto but questioned how The Record obtained the email outlining Roland’s request.
“It clearly said on that email ‘attorney-client privilege,'” Fugazi said. “Everybody up here on council, we were the only ones to get it from the city attorney.”
The council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is at 1 p.m. Aug. 11 at Stockton City Hall, 501 W. Weber Ave., according to the city calendar.
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: 2 Stockton councilmembers seek vote on mayor’s spokesperson amid claims
Reporting by Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record / The Record
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By Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record | USA TODAY Network
