After a yr of scrutiny and a taxpayer-funded investigation, Stockton Vice Mayor and Hollywood Unlocked founder Jason Lee has been formally cleared of all allegations concerning the misuse of metropolis funds. The controversy centered on $50,000 in metropolis cash used to carry Nick Cannon’s “Wild ‘N Out” comedy present to Stockton, a transfer critics initially labeled as an abuse of energy.

On Friday, the unbiased legislation agency Hanson Bridgette LLP launched the outcomes of its investigation, which was spearheaded by the Stockton Metropolis Council. The findings had been definitive: Lee didn’t violate state legislation, the town constitution, or ethics guidelines. Moreover, the report concluded that Lee held no improper monetary curiosity and exerted no improper affect over the occasion’s proceedings.

The Investigation and Council Break up

The push to analyze Lee reached a head throughout a tense metropolis council assembly on December 9, 2025. Mayor Christina Fugazi moved to develop the probe into Lee’s involvement and discussions surrounding the comedy present. The council in the end voted 4-3 in favor of spending $50,000 in taxpayer funds to conduct the investigation.

The “sure” votes got here from Mayor Fugazi and Councilmembers Michele Padilla, Mariela Ponce, and Brando Villapudua. Voting towards the investigation had been Lee himself, Michael Blower, and Mario Enriquez.

Findings: “Aligned with Metropolis Curiosity”

Regardless of the political friction, the unbiased investigators discovered that Lee’s actions had been constant together with his duties. The agency said, “The info present that any private curiosity was possible aligned with Metropolis curiosity,” noting that whereas excessive moral requirements are all the time inspired, Lee met all authorized necessities and had no must recuse himself from discussions.

The report advised that, at most, the scenario mirrored a “doable lack of understanding” concerning moral perceptions, even when private and official pursuits are completely aligned.

Reactions from Metropolis Corridor

Following the discharge of the report, Vice Mayor Lee didn’t maintain again his frustration with the method. He known as the investigation a waste of sources, noting that the price of proving his innocence matched the very $50,000 quantity he was accused of misusing.

“I attempted my finest to avoid wasting the taxpayers from spending $50,000 to show I used to be harmless, however the council clique voted in any other case,” Lee stated, including that the mayor and supportive councilmembers ought to really feel “extraordinarily embarrassed.”

Mayor Fugazi has remained essential regardless of the clearance. Fairly than specializing in the truth that no legal guidelines had been damaged, she shifted her focus to the agency’s touch upon “acceptable requirements,” stating that the residents of Stockton deserve a consultant who “exceeds requirements.”

For now, the authorized cloud over the “Wild ‘N Out” occasion has been lifted, leaving the Vice Mayor vindicated however the Metropolis Council deeply divided.