Unfortunate news for blogger turned politician, Jason Lee.

The gossip blogger has been stripped of his vice mayor title after Stockton City Council voted 4-2 to remove him, rejecting his attempt to resign from the position on his own terms.

In a separate 6-1 vote, the council also removed him from the city’s Audit Committee.

Lee tried to resign from the position on his own terms, but, the city council members rejected his resignation and instead decided to remove Lee’s title as vice mayor in a 4-2 vote. Councilmembers Michael Blower and Mario Enriquez were the only two who voted no.

Lee left the chambers before the vote to catch a flight to the East Coast.

“I’m going to resign as the vice mayor and here’s the deal because the title doesn’t drive leadership,” Lee said during Tuesday night’s meeting. “The title doesn’t change anything.”

Lee said he would share more details on his social media pages.

Mayor Christina Fugazi nominated Lee to be vice mayor, and the council unanimously voted to approve his appointment in January 2025. His term as vice mayor was supposed to end on Dec. 31 of this year.

Lee has been in a number of public disputes with the council. With the council’s decision to remove him as vice mayor, he will still serve as a councilmember through 2028.

Before Tuesday’s meeting, Lee provided the following statement through a public relations firm.

“The Council unanimously ratified my appointment as Vice Mayor through December 31, 2026, as the City Charter provides. The City’s own staff report acknowledges that its reconsideration procedures do not, on their own, authorize removing a sitting Vice Mayor.

Before the Council acts, I’m asking the City Attorney to identify in writing the legal authority for these items. It’s a simple question, and residents deserve a clear answer.

With less than three months left in this term, our time is better spent implementing the Civil Grand Jury’s recommendations and cooperating fully with the State Controller’s audit. My commitment to District 6 has never depended on a title, and I’ll keep doing the work.”

Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi had proposed removing Vice Mayor Lee from his roles on council committees and replacing him with other councilmembers.

“The actions taken by the city council are consistent with its role to ensure good governance, accountability, and the orderly performance of city business,” Fugazi said in a statement Tuesday night. “Our responsibility is to the residents of Stockton and to ensure that our governing institutions are functioning effectively and in alignment with the values of our great city.”

Before Lee announced his resignation, the Stockton City Council voted 6-1 to remove Lee from the audit committee, which oversees the city’s finances, amid concerns raised in city records.

Keith Smith, a political science professor at the University of the Pacific, said the council has the authority to make such a decision.

“The city attorney is the person who’s going to be who provides that legal advice. So they’re going to perhaps charge the city attorney to answer that question for them and then bring it back to them at their next council meeting. So then depending on what the attorney says, they may or may not choose to hold a vote about removal,” Smith said.