City Attorney Marci Arredondo is resigning less than five months after the Stockton City Council unanimously appointed her, extending a period of leadership turnover at Stockton City Hall.
In her July 21 resignation letter, obtained by The Record, Arredondo thanked the council for the opportunity to serve as the city’s attorney.
“I have recently been presented with an employment opportunity that permits me to work with my children (future lawyers) that I cannot pass up on,” Arredondo wrote.
Arredondo said that under her employment contract, she was providing the city with two weeks’ notice of her resignation. Her last day will be on Aug. 5.
Arredondo did not identify her new employer or provide details about the position in the letter. Mayor Christina Fugazi said at a July 27 news conference that Arredondo is leaving to join her family in starting a private law firm.
The city has not announced who will oversee the city attorney’s office after Arredondo’s departure or when it will begin searching for a permanent replacement. Fugazi said the council plans to hold a special closed session before its next regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 11 to determine the next steps, including whether to appoint an acting or interim attorney.
Fugazi praised Arredondo following the announcement of her resignation, calling her professional and saying she served with integrity and composure.
“I would like to share with the public our appreciation for our city attorney, Marci Arredondo, and the work that she has already done in the short time that she has been here,” Fugazi said.
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.
“For those who are concerned about the future, we are going to continue doing the work,” Fugazi said. “We are focused on that and making sure that this city is a smooth-running machine.”
City attorney’s office turnover
Arredondo’s resignation continues a period of turnover in the city attorney’s office, which has undergone three leadership changes in less than seven months.
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.
Former City Attorney Lori Asuncion, who worked in the city attorney’s office for nearly two decades, resigned on Jan. 13, less than a week after District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla, District 2 Councilmember Mariela Ponce and District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua asked City Clerk Katherine Roland to place a closed session item on the city 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 conducted a search and a new city attorney was hired.
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 city 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 employee benefits, including paid leave, professional development funding and vehicle and technology allowances.
Arredondo returned to Stockton when she was appointed city attorney. She was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2007 after attending Lincoln Law School in Sacramento. She began her legal career that year as a prosecutor with the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office before joining the Stockton city attorney’s office in 2009, where she defended the city against discrimination claims. She later entered private practice with Filippi Law Firm.
The city attorney is one of four charter officer positions that report directly to the city council. Under her employment agreement, Arredondo serves at the council’s pleasure as an at-will employee and must provide at least two weeks’ written notice before resigning.
Broader turnover at Stockton City Hall
Arredondo’s resignation is the latest in a series of executive leadership changes since Fugazi, Vice Mayor Jason Lee, Ponce and District 4 Councilmember Mario Enríquez took office in January 2025.
The resignation comes as the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury has raised concerns about turnover at Stockton City Hall. In a June 25 report, the 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.
Instability at city hall followed the Jan. 9, 2025, resignation of former City Manager Harry Black, who resigned in lieu of termination without cause two days after Fugazi and the newly elected councilmembers were sworn in. The city manager position changed hands three times in less than a year as Stockton cycled through interim and acting leaders, including Interim City Manager Steve Colangelo, whose appointment drew criticism because he did not meet the minimum qualifications for the position. The council unanimously appointed Johnny Ford as permanent city manager on Nov. 19, 2025.
Shortly after Colangelo’s appointment in February 2025, Stockton lost two senior finance officials: Interim Chief Financial Officer and Deputy City Manager Jay Kapoor and Assistant Chief Financial Officer Queen Gray. Their departures left Stockton without a chief financial officer as the city prepared its $1.05 billion budget. The city did not publicly explain their departures.
Former Deputy City Manager Chad Reed assumed the chief financial officer’s duties while continuing to oversee the public works and human resources, utilities and administrative services departments. He served in that role until the city hired Chief Financial Officer Gilbert Garcia on Dec. 22, 2025. Peni Basalusalu became public works director the same day.
Stockton has not announced a replacement for the assistant chief financial officer position.
Carrie Wright left her position as the city’s economic development director in April 2025 after serving nearly six years. She was appointed in July 2019. Tina McCarty, then managing director of events and parking, assumed the role before being named director of housing and homelessness initiatives. Ricardo Noguera was appointed economic development director on April 30.
Stockton also experienced a gap in its internal audit function after Moss Adams, the accounting firm that had served as the city’s internal auditor since 2013, ended its contract on May 7, 2025. The city hired UHY Advisors Mid-Atlantic Inc. on April 28 to provide city auditor services.
Other notable departures from city hall in 2025 included former city spokesperson Connie Cochran in May, former diversity, equity and inclusion officer Preya Nixon in June, former Stockton Fire Department Chief Rick Edwards in July, former mayoral public information officer Leenisha Ward in August and former Community Services Director Kris Farro in December.
The departures continued in 2026. Reed and former Deputy City Manager Courtney Christy left city employment in January, and Christine Tien was appointed deputy city manager that same month. Former Human Resources Director Rosemary Rivas left in May to take the same position in Elk Grove, and Deputy Human Resources Director Alecia Figueroa became acting human resources director.
Election allegations unresolved
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.
Arredondo sent an email to councilmembers on July 1 notifying them that Roland had requested an investigation into Jason Teramoto, alleging he attempted to interfere with the June 2 primary election by improperly pressuring her in her role as the city’s elections official.
The investigation request was the latest development in a dispute over alleged political interference in the primary election. It followed allegations by Lee that Teramoto improperly contacted the city clerk’s office regarding Stockton City Council District 1 candidate Tamica Small’s ballot materials.
Roland first emailed Arredondo on April 23 requesting guidance about what she described as concerns involving the conduct of a member of the mayor’s staff, noting that the mayor exercised supervisory authority over both of them, according to a document obtained by The Record. It is unclear what action, if any, Arredondo took to address Roland’s concerns.
Lee’s attorney, Walter Mosley, sent Arredondo a letter on June 16 requesting an immediate investigation into the allegations. The city has not confirmed whether an investigation has been opened.
Mayor discusses transition
Asked at the news conference whether the timing of Arredondo’s resignation was awkward, Fugazi said it was unexpected.
“It is not something I had planned for, council had planned for, and I would say it’s not something that Ms. Arredondo had been planning for,” Fugazi said. “The opportunity presented itself, and we wish her the best. Family’s first. Her wanting to be with her family, no one can be mad at her for that.”
Fugazi said the city’s next attorney should continue Arredondo’s approach by handling cases professionally, acting with integrity and protecting the city from potential lawsuits.
Asked whether Arredondo’s resignation was connected to allegations involving the mayor’s office and its staff, Fugazi declined to speculate.
“I can’t comment on that,” Fugazi said. “That would be a question that you would have for the city attorney. She did not indicate anything like that to me.”
Responding to a question about the resignation following the grand jury’s report criticizing turnover among city leadership, Fugazi said Arredondo’s decision was based on a new professional opportunity.
“This was her decision because the opportunity had arisen, and she did not indicate it was for any other reason,” Fugazi said. “We will actively search for a replacement to serve in that role.”
Fugazi said the special council meeting is expected to be held before the next regularly scheduled council meeting on Aug. 11 and would be subject to the required 24-hour public notice for a special meeting.
Asked whether Jones could again serve as acting city attorney, Fugazi said that decision has not been made.
“That is a conversation that needs to be had with Ms. Jones,” Fugazi said. “She filled that role before, and the last indication was she’s working on the cases that she has, and taking over all the rest is not something that she was interested in.”
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 weighs next steps as city attorney resigns 5 months after appointment
Reporting by Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record / The Record
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By Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record | USA TODAY Network
