Stockton City Attorney Marci Arredondo is resigning less than five months after the City Council unanimously selected her to lead the city’s legal office, according to a document obtained by Stocktonia and confirmation from current and former city officials.
In the July 21 document addressed to the City Council, Arredondo said she had received another employment opportunity. Her last day will be Aug. 5.
“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.
She thanked councilmembers for the opportunity to serve as Stockton’s city attorney and said she was providing the two weeks’ notice required under her employment contract.
The document did not identify Arredondo’s new employer or provide additional details about the position.
The City Attorney’s Office, city spokesperson Tony Mannor and members of the City Council either did not respond to Stocktonia’s requests for comment by deadline or declined to comment. It remains unclear who will oversee the City Attorney’s Office after Arredondo leaves or when the city will begin searching for another permanent city attorney.
Arredondo’s departure will mark the third leadership change in Stockton’s legal department in less than seven months, again leaving the office without a permanent leader. The department advises the City Council and other city officials, prepares legislation and represents the city in legal matters.
Former City Attorney Lori Asuncion resigned Jan. 13 after nearly two decades with the City Attorney’s Office. Assistant City Attorney Taryn Jones was appointed acting city attorney while the council searched for a permanent replacement.
The city began recruiting for the position the following day and later expanded its search to municipal government organizations, legal associations, employment websites and law schools. After a 45-day process, councilmembers interviewed candidates in closed session.
The City Council then voted 7-0 on March 3 to appoint Arredondo, pending completion of a background check.
The appointment marked a return to Stockton for Arredondo. She joined the city’s legal team in 2009 after beginning her career as a prosecutor in the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office. She later worked for San Joaquin County and in private practice before returning as city attorney.
Under her three-year employment agreement, Arredondo was to receive an annual salary of $315,000, along with benefits and monthly vehicle and technology allowances. The agreement also provided 30 vacation days and 15 sick days annually.
As one of four chartered positions directly accountable to the City Council, Arredondo served at the pleasure of the council as an at-will employee. Her contract required her to provide at least two weeks’ written notice before resigning.
Arredondo’s exit adds to broader City Hall turnover
The change in the City Attorney’s Office comes amid continued turnover in Stockton’s executive leadership since Mayor Christina Fugazi, Vice Mayor Jason Lee and Councilmembers Mariela Ponce and Mario Enriquez took office in January 2025.
Former City Manager Harry Black resigned under threat of termination shortly after the new council was seated following the 2024 election. The city then cycled through interim and acting leadership for much of 2025, including three handovers of the city manager chair in less than a year, including the appointment of embattled and controversial interim City Manager Steve Colangelo, before the council unanimously appointed Johnny Ford as the permanent city manager in November.
The turnover also reached Stockton’s finance department. Shortly after taking office, Colangelo dismissed two senior officials whose responsibilities included financial oversight and payroll, leaving the city without a chief financial officer as officials prepared a budget nearing $1 billion. The city did not fully explain the departures…
Deputy City Manager Chad Reed later served as temporary CFO while holding two other leadership roles, before the city hired Gilbert Garcia as its permanent finance chief in December. The city has not publicly identified a direct replacement for Gray.
The gaps also extended to Stockton’s independent financial oversight. Moss Adams, the outside accounting firm that had served as the city’s internal auditor since 2013, notified Stockton in February 2025 that it would terminate its contract effective May 7. The city then operated without either an in-house auditor or a contracted auditing firm while officials debated how to fill the charter position.
Stockton brought UHY Advisors Mid-Atlantic Inc. to perform the city auditor function on April 28.
Changes continued also after Ford took office. Deputy City Managers Chad Reed and Courtney Christy left city employment in January, while Christine Tien was appointed to serve as a deputy city manager. Human Resources Director Rosemary Rivas also left the city in May to take the same position in Elk Grove.
Not all of the personnel changes were made by the City Council. Under Stockton’s government structure, the council appoints four charter officers, including the city manager,city attorney, city clerk and city auditor, while department directors and deputy city managers generally fall under the city manager’s authority.
The turnover had already drawn scrutiny before Arredondo submitted her resignation. In its 2025-26 annual report released in June, the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury said leadership instability, council interference with city staff and departures from established governance procedures had contributed to poor morale and increased turnover in key administrative positions. The report said those conditions made it more difficult for Stockton to recruit and retain qualified employees.
The civil grand jury also said the departure of experienced employees had cost the city institutional knowledge and hundreds of thousands of dollars in severance payments. It recommended additional council training on the City Charter, council conduct and the boundaries between elected officials and city staff.
Arredondo’s resignation comes less than a month after the report was released.
One of the most recent high-profile matters involving Arredondo in her role as city attorney concerned allegations of attempted election interference by a staffer in Mayor Christina Fugazi’s office.
In a July 1 email obtained by Stocktonia, Arredondo informed councilmembers that City Clerk Katherine Roland had accused mayoral spokesperson Jason Teramoto of attempting to interfere with a prior election and had requested an investigation into Teramoto’s alleged actions. Arredondo also advised the council that taking adverse action against Roland near her request could expose the city to a retaliation claim because Roland could argue she was a whistleblower. Teramoto has denied the allegations.
Arredondo had not commented publicly on the matter.