Stockton City Council has scheduled a special closed session for 8 a.m. to appoint an acting city clerk while City Clerk Katherine Roland is temporarily absent, according to a city spokesperson.
“The City Council has called a special meeting to appoint an acting City Clerk to ensure continuity of operations during a temporary absence by the City Clerk,” city spokesperson Tony Mannor told Stocktonia Thursday.
Mannor did not provide a reason for Roland’s absence and said there is no estimated date for her return. The city also has not said when her temporary absence began.
Stocktonia has been unable to reach Roland since Aug. 1 despite attempts to contact her by email, phone and in person.
The city first published an agenda at Wednesday evening listing a “Public Employee Appointment” for the position of “Interim City Clerk.” A revised version published early Thursday morning changed the title to “Acting City Clerk.” Neither version identifies who the council may appoint.
Friday’s meeting marks the latest development surrounding Roland’s position, less than two weeks after three councilmembers sought a closed-session discussion involving possible discipline, dismissal or release of the city clerk.
Emails obtained by Stocktonia through the California Public Records Act show District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla initiated that effort July 31. District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua concurred nine minutes later, and District 2 Councilmember Mariela Ponce added her support later that night.
Roland characterized the request as retaliatory. It came one day after she warned councilmembers and senior city officials that candidates had improperly accessed the City Clerk’s Office, which administers Stockton elections.
The council had previously been warned by then-City Attorney Marci Arredondo that taking adverse action against Roland in close proximity to her request for an investigation into alleged election interference could expose the city to a whistleblower retaliation claim.
The meeting Padilla requested July 31 never occurred.
Mayor Christina Fugazi subsequently called a separate special closed session for Aug. 4. That agenda included consideration of the discipline, dismissal or release of a public employee and the appointment of a city clerk.
Vice Mayor Jason Lee raised concerns about how that meeting was scheduled, writing that the sequence — three councilmembers first seeking a substantially similar closed session, followed by the mayor calling one — created the appearance that a serial meeting may have occurred or, at minimum, raised questions about compliance with California’s open-meeting laws and Stockton’s procedures for calling special meetings.
The Aug. 4 meeting was canceled before the council convened.
The city clerk personnel matter resurfaced Wednesday when the city posted the agenda for Friday’s special closed session.
Unlike the Aug. 4 agenda, Friday’s agenda does not include possible discipline, dismissal or release of a public employee. Its only closed-session item concerns the appointment of an acting city clerk.
The revised agenda’s certificate of posting continues to identify Roland as Stockton’s city clerk. It states that the agenda was posted Aug. 12 in compliance with the Brown Act and lists “Katherine Roland, CMC, CPMC City Clerk,” followed by an empty signature line for a deputy.
Under California’s open-meeting laws, public agencies may meet behind closed doors to consider certain personnel matters, including the appointment or employment of a public employee.
The council’s consideration of an acting city clerk comes as questions remain about Roland’s absence and the earlier efforts to discuss her employment after she alleged retaliation over actions she took in her role as Stockton’s elections official.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.