STOCKTON, Calif. — A Stockton city council member is facing an investigation and possible censure after allegations surfaced that she used city money to host a community event in July that possibly turned political. City policy bans the use of city funds for political events.
"It's so unfortunate that my colleagues feel this type of community event is political in nature," said Councilmember Michele Padilla of her July "community BBQ" event. "I have family and friends that know what type of person I am. They know my integrity (and) my values. With that support, I have nothing to worry about."
The process of starting an ad-hoc committee to look into a possible censure began with councilmembers Michael Blower and Brando Villapudua. The two wrote a letter to the city clerk alleging that Councilmember Padilla used city funding to host a community event where several political candidates spoke.
"One of the big restrictions is that the money cannot be used for things that are religious or political in nature," Blower said. "One person had a campaign T-shirt on. Several of them gave overtly political speeches, and that, to me, is inappropriate."
City records show that $10,000 in discretionary funding was used to put on the event and that when applying for the funds, Padilla did not disclose that political candidates would be giving speeches. Padilla said the speeches were unplanned.
"When I looked out at the crowd, I saw my friends, and I said, 'You know what, come on up.' They did not even know that they were going to be called up on the stage. I introduced them as my friends," Padilla said. "My event was strictly a community event."
Now, it will be up to Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln and city councilmembers Susan Lenz and Dan Wright to decide if the event was political, whether the use of funds broke city policy and whether a censure should be issued.
Councilmembers had the chance to shoot down the investigation during Tuesday night's meeting but chose to continue.
"This isn't about accountability; this is about political retaliation," Padilla said, describing the investigation as a distraction.
A date has not yet been set for when the committee will meet. Aside from a censure, the city could also demand restitution, report the expenses as income to the council member or recommend criminal prosecution.
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