Restraining order quashed in Stockton councilman vs 209 Times founder's dispute

A Stockton city councilman's request to forbid the founder of the 209 Times from "harassing" him was quashed in a hearing that detailed an escalating conflict between the two men over confidential city council information.

"A restraining order is a blunt instrument not well-suited to resolve the issue you two are having," Judge Erin Guy Castillo said in her decision to deny the order.

The dispute between Councilman Brando Villapudua and 209 Times founder Motecuzoma Sanchez centered around Sanchez's behavior after a closed-session city council meeting Villapudua took part in on March 1, according to testimony by both sides. Both men claim information was leaked from that March meeting behind closed doors.

The two men once had a less hostile relationship when Sanchez worked as a consultant for Villapudua's 2022 city council campaign, according to testimony by both sides.

But sometime between the campaign and March 1, their relationship became strained.

The closed-session meeting at the center of the dispute appears to have been a performance review for Stockton City Manager Harry Black, according to the city council's agenda.

Villapudua, who represents District 5, claimed in court documents and testimony that Sanchez sent him texts before and during the meeting that he understood to be attempts to sway his actions at the closed door evaluation.

Sanchez confirmed after court Wednesday that he wanted Black "out" as city manager.

Villapudua further claimed that Sanchez started harassing him after the closed session meeting adjourned, with the city manager still in charge of the city.

Villapudua claimed the harassment started when Sanchez approached him at a restaurant the evening after the meeting and began "verbally attacking" him, the council member said.

Sanchez demanded to know why Villapudua voted to support Black's role as city manager, Villapudua said.

“I was shaking in my hands,” the councilman testified Wednesday. “I felt my life was threatened … how does this guy just show up out of nowhere?”

The council member filed a harassment lawsuit on March 16. A judge partially granted his request for a temporary restraining order on March 17 and set a hearing for May.

Sanchez — who represented himself in court, stating the councilman's case wasn't worthy of a lawyer — testified that he did approach Villapudua at the restaurant and questioned him about the city manager. However, he said the interaction was peaceful and "I never raised my voice."

Villapudua also claimed Wednesday that Sanchez showed up while Villapudua was picking his son up from school and later harassed him via negative posts on the social media page 209 Times.

Sanchez claimed he saw Villapudua at the school because both their children study there. He called Villapudua's lawsuit an attempt to stifle posts on the 209 Times.

"There is no long-standing pattern of harassment," he added.

In court documents and testimony, Villapudua and Sanchez appeared to agree that they believed someone disclosed confidential details of the March 1 closed session.

During the restaurant encounter, "Motecuzoma knew too much information about exactly what was said and how the meeting took place for there not to have been a clear violation," Villapudua wrote in his restraining order request.

In court Wednesday, Sanchez claimed someone did tell the 209 Times what happened at the meeting after overhearing a council member's conversation about it. He did not specify who.

California's Brown Act requires council members and city staff to keep closed session discussions confidential, unless there is a specific action taken, which is reported to the public.

"A person may not disclose confidential information that has been acquired by being present in a closed session ... to a person not entitled to receive it unless the legislative body authorizes disclosure of that confidential information," the act states.

Stockton's city attorney could not immediately be reached Wednesday afternoon regarding whether the city is investigating a potential violation.

Mayor Kevin Lincoln is unable to comment on the claims of a Brown Act violation because he is prohibited by the act's confidentiality restraints, spokesperson Dana Sovinec said Wednesday.

In her decision, Judge Guy Castillo stated, "the law requires me to decide this case based on a clear and convincing standard of evidence."

"The court finds that the petitioner ... has not met this burden of proof."

In addition to owning the 209 Times, Sanchez is also a director at the Stockton Unified School District, though his position is set to be eliminated July 1, according to a district spokesperson.

The Record has not corroborated either Villapudua's or Sanchez's descriptions of events underlying the case.

Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers public safety. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Restraining order quashed in Stockton councilman vs 209 Times dispute