Stockton Assistant City Attorney Taryn Jones, who briefly led the city’s legal office during a leadership transition earlier this year, is set to become Lodi’s next city attorney.
The Lodi City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on Jones’ appointment, according to a news release from the city.
Jones has more than a decade of experience in local government and began her municipal career with Stockton while attending law school.
“I am humbled to be joining the great team in Lodi,” she said in the release. “Growing up in the Central Valley, I fell in love with this community, so it’s especially meaningful to have the opportunity to work for the place I have called home for the past seven years.”
Jones’ expected departure comes as the City Attorney’s Office in Stockton is again operating without a permanent legal chief.
The City Council appointed outside attorney Donald A. Larkin as interim city attorney on Aug. 3 following the resignation of Marci Arredondo, who left less than five months after the council selected her for the permanent position. Larkin began work Aug. 6, immediately after Arredondo’s final day.
At the time of Larkin’s appointment, Mayor Christina Fugazi told Stocktonia that Jones and attorney John McElroy would continue handling their existing duties while Larkin primarily oversaw broader city and council legal matters.
Stocktonia asked the city to disclose Jones’ last day, but did not immediately receive a response.
Jones previously served as Stockton’s top attorney during an earlier period of transition.
Former City Attorney Lori Asuncion resigned Jan. 13 after more than 18 years with the city, leaving Jones, who was then assistant city attorney, to serve as acting city attorney while the City Council searched for a permanent replacement.
Jones led the office through the hiring process that ultimately resulted in the council’s unanimous March 3 vote to select Arredondo, pending a background check.
Arredondo submitted her resignation July 21, saying she had received an opportunity to work with her children in a family law practice. Her departure left Stockton without a permanent city attorney for the second time in less than seven months.
The changes in the city’s legal department come amid broader turnover in Stockton’s executive leadership, which has drawn scrutiny from the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury.
In its 2025-26 annual report, the grand jury said leadership instability, council interference with city staff and departures from established governance procedures had contributed to poor morale and turnover in key administrative positions. The report also said those conditions made it more difficult for Stockton to recruit and retain qualified employees.
The grand jury linked the departure of experienced employees to a “loss of institutional knowledge” as well as financial costs to the city.
The report, titled “Governance in Turmoil,” described broader problems at City Hall involving public council infighting, staff interference, ethics concerns and leadership instability. It did not single out individual councilmembers in its findings.
Jones was born and raised in Tracy and earned bachelor’s degrees in legal studies and philosophy from UC Santa Cruz. She later earned her law degree from UC Hastings, now the UC San Francisco College of the Law.
She began her career with the City Attorney’s Office in Stockton as an intern while attending law school before becoming going on to become deputy city attorney. In Stockton, she specialized in government transparency and public records law, land use and public contracting. She was appointed assistant city attorney in June 2024 and oversaw the office’s advisory team.
In its release announcing her hire, Lodi credited Jones with playing a role in such Stockton projects as the Ursula Meyer Library and Community Center and the drafting and implementation of the city’s Critical Infrastructure Ordinance.
Lodi Mayor Ramón Yepez said Jones’ experience and ties to the city, where she and her husband have lived for seven years, make her a strong fit for the position.
“Taryn brings extensive experience in municipal law, strong leadership and a genuine commitment to serving local organizations,” Yepez said in a news release. “As a resident of Lodi, she knows our community not only as a professional who will serve the City, but as a neighbor who has chosen to make Lodi home.”