The Stockton City Council unanimously appointed outside attorney Donald Larkin as interim city attorney on Aug. 3, two days before City Attorney Marci Arredondo’s resignation takes effect, choosing a lawyer from a firm that already has a legal services agreement with the city.
The council voted 6-0 during a special closed session to appoint Larkin, a partner in Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP’s labor and employment and public law practice groups, as interim city attorney, effective Aug. 6. District 2 Councilmember Mariela Ponce was absent from the vote.
Larkin has more than 25 years of experience representing public agencies. According to his biography on the firm’s website, he has served as city attorney for Morgan Hill, deputy county counsel for Santa Clara County, assistant city attorney for Palo Alto and deputy city attorney for Santa Clara.
Larkin will be paid under the rates established in the city’s legal services agreement with the firm, Arredondo said when reading the council’s announcement following the closed session. She added that the agreement was approved by the council through Resolution No. 04-0015. The Record requested a copy of the resolution from the city.
The council did not publicly discuss how long Larkin is expected to serve as interim city attorney or announce a timeline for selecting a permanent city attorney.
The Stockton city attorney serves as the city’s chief legal officer, providing legal advice to the city council, boards, commissions and departments. The position also manages civil and criminal litigation, drafts contracts and ordinances, defends the city in lawsuits and interprets laws to reduce risk and costs to taxpayers.
Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP has represented public agencies throughout California, including serving as outside counsel for the Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees. The board hired the firm’s partner, Jack Lipton, as its legal counsel in February 2020.
The 2020-21 San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury report later criticized the hiring process, saying the meeting was held at an “unusual” time during normal working hours, when many members of the public could not attend.
The civil grand jury also said the board failed to make the contract available to the public or to trustees who opposed it. The report concluded the board violated California’s open meetings law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, in hiring the law firm.
The district’s board ended its relationship with Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP in January 2023 after a newly elected majority replaced the firm in a contentious 4-3 vote.
Available records do not indicate Larkin was involved in the firm’s representation of the board of trustees.
Larkin’s appointment comes after Arredondo announced on July 21 that she was resigning less than five months after the council unanimously appointed her city attorney. In a letter providing the two weeks’ notice required under her employment agreement, Arredondo said her last day with the city would be Aug. 5.
In her resignation letter, Arredondo said she accepted an employment opportunity that would allow her to work alongside her children, whom she referred to as “future lawyers.” Mayor Christina Fugazi later said Arredondo was leaving to join her family in starting a private law firm.
At a July 27 news conference, Fugazi praised Arredondo following the announcement of her resignation, calling her professional and saying she served with integrity and composure. Fugazi said Arredondo brought legal work back in-house that previously had been handled by outside law firms, saving the city money. She also credited Arredondo with restructuring the city attorney’s office to better use its staff.
Arredondo’s departure continues a period of turnover in the city attorney’s office that began earlier this year.
Former City Attorney Lori Asuncion, who worked in the city attorney’s office for nearly two decades, resigned on Jan. 13. Her resignation came less than a week after District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla, Ponce and District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua asked City Clerk Katherine Roland to place a closed session item on the council agenda to consider Asuncion’s potential discipline, dismissal or release.
Villapudua and Padilla asked Roland not to disclose that they and Ponce had requested the closed session discussion of Asuncion’s employment, according to emails obtained by The Record through a California Public Records Act request.
After Asuncion’s resignation, Assistant City Attorney Taryn Jones was appointed acting city attorney until the council completed its search and hired a new city attorney.
Stockton began recruiting for a new city attorney on Jan. 14, the day after Asuncion resigned. City officials said the council broadened the recruitment through professional legal organizations, local law schools and other public-sector recruiting channels.
After a 45-day recruitment process, councilmembers interviewed candidates in closed session. The council voted on March 3 to appoint Arredondo as city attorney, pending a background check. She officially assumed the position later that month.
Under her three-year employment agreement, Arredondo receives an annual salary of $315,000, with possible cost-of-living increases consistent with those granted to the city’s unrepresented management, confidential and law employees. The agreement also provides benefits, including paid leave, professional development funding and vehicle and technology allowances.
Arredondo’s resignation also comes amid continued leadership turnover at Stockton City Hall since Fugazi took office as mayor in January 2025.
In a report released on June 25, the civil grand jury said allegations surrounding executive appointments and efforts to remove city employees had created uncertainty at city hall, hurt employee morale and contributed to the loss of experienced employees, increasing costs for severance, hiring and training.
Among the final high-profile matters Arredondo handled as city attorney were allegations that mayoral public information officer Jason Teramoto attempted to interfere with the June 2 primary election.
On July 1, Arredondo notified councilmembers that Roland had requested an investigation, alleging Teramoto improperly pressured her in her role as the city’s elections official. The request followed allegations by Vice Mayor Jason Lee that Teramoto had improperly contacted the city clerk’s office regarding Stockton City Council District 1 candidate Tamica Small’s ballot materials.
The city has not publicly announced the status of the investigation or who, if anyone, will oversee the matter following Arredondo’s departure.
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: Stockton council appoints interim city attorney before Arredondo exits
Reporting by Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record / The Record
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By Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record | USA TODAY Network
