Less than two months before the Nov. 3 general election, the Stockton City Council will consider appointing former City Clerk Bonnie Paige as interim city clerk after City Clerk Katherine Roland’s announcement of her resignation.
The council is set to vote on Paige’s appointment at its Sept. 15 meeting, 11 days before Roland’s resignation takes effect on Sept. 26. The city is also searching for a permanent replacement.
Paige worked at Stockton City Hall for more than 28 years, serving as assistant city clerk before the council unanimously selected her in 2011 to replace retiring City Clerk Katherine Gong Meissner. Paige served as city clerk from July 2011 to July 2017.
In agenda documents, city staff said Paige was "uniquely suited" to serve as Stockton’s
interim city clerk and that her appointment was proposed "to ensure the continuation of essential services."
Under a proposed employment agreement, Paige would begin work Sept. 16, with her appointment ending at the earliest of four events: the agreement’s expiration on July 1, 2027; the start date of a new permanent city clerk; Paige reaching her 960th hour of work for the city, including hours worked for other California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) agencies during the 2026-27 fiscal year; or termination by either Paige or the city as provided in the agreement. Either Paige or the city could terminate the arrangement with 14 days' written notice.
Paige would be paid $93.11 per hour and would not receive city employee benefits, including health, dental or vision insurance, because she is a retired annuitant receiving benefits through CalPERS, according to the agreement. She would not receive or accrue any personal time off, vacation, sick leave, administrative leave, paid holidays or similar paid leave benefits.
The agreement says Paige has the special skills and training required for the interim position because of her experience as a city clerk. It also states that the city has begun an open recruitment process to permanently fill the position.
City staff said there were sufficient funds in the city clerk’s budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year and that Paige’s appointment would have no impact on the city’s general fund.
Election interference allegations
Paige’s potential appointment follows a tumultuous period for the city clerk’s office that included allegations of election interference and weeks of uncertainty surrounding Roland’s position.
On July 1, Roland requested an investigation into Mayor Christina Fugazi’s public information officer, Jason Teramoto, over allegations that he attempted to interfere with the June 2 primary election and pressure her in her role as city clerk.
Former City Attorney Marci Arredondo emailed councilmembers that same day to notify them of Roland’s investigation request and caution that taking adverse action against Roland soon afterward could expose the city to a retaliation claim.
The city had not confirmed whether it had investigated the allegations or whether the matter remained under investigation.
Questions over access to city clerk's office
Later that month, on July 30, Roland emailed Arredondo, councilmembers, City Manager Johnny Ford and other senior city staff, raising concerns that people who did not work in the city clerk’s office had accessed the office. She also said she had requested a keycard audit.
"We are a confidential unit as mandated by our election duties," Roland wrote. "Under no circumstances should anyone be able to access our offices, especially candidates for office, without an approved escort by a city clerk staff member."
Padilla responded the same day, asking Roland to clarify the boundaries of the city clerk's office.
"Please be more specific as to what is considered 'your' department," Padilla wrote to Roland in a response that included Fugazi, Ford, Arredondo and other senior city staff.
In a subsequent email, Padilla, who has been on the council since 2023, said she had not understood that she had entered the city clerk's office without permission.
"This is the first time information has been brought to my attention," Padilla wrote. "My daughter came to visit and I wanted to show her our new chamber. I was completely unaware I was entering without proper permission."
The following day, on July 31, Padilla, District 2 Councilmember Mariela Ponce and District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua sought to schedule a special closed session to discuss the discipline, dismissal or release of the city clerk.
The meeting was not agendized. Roland responded by citing city council policy 4.03.010, which states that a special meeting may be called by the mayor, the vice mayor in the mayor’s absence or a majority of the council.
Roland also said she viewed the request as retaliatory because it came about 10 minutes after the close of business and immediately followed her efforts to restrict candidates’ access to the city clerk’s office. She said those restrictions were necessary because of the office’s role in administering elections.
That weekend, on Aug. 2, Fugazi requested a similar meeting for Aug. 4 that was later canceled. Vice Mayor Jason Lee voiced concerns that no lawful polling of the council had occurred before the meeting was scheduled.
Roland's departure
Since then, councilmembers have discussed the city clerk’s position in two closed sessions. The first was a special meeting Aug. 14 to consider appointing an acting city clerk. The council also discussed the appointment in closed session during its Aug. 18 regular meeting.
At the time, city spokesperson Tony Mannor described Roland as "temporarily absent" and did not answer questions about whether Roland was on leave, the type of leave she was taking, when it began or when she was expected to return. He also said an acting city clerk was needed "to ensure continuity of operations."
However, after the second discussion, Interim City Attorney Donald Larkin announced that the council had taken no reportable action.
Also that day, Lee announced that he had asked the State Bar of California to investigate Arredondo, alleging she directed the city’s human resources department to offer Roland about $250,000 to resign without authorization from the council.
Rick Coca, a State Bar spokesperson, said the agency could not confirm whether an attorney was the subject of a complaint or investigation because disciplinary complaints and investigations are confidential under state law.
Coca said disciplinary investigations become public if the State Bar files a notice of disciplinary charges with the State Bar Court or if a stipulation to a particular level of discipline is accepted and filed by the court.
Roland’s resignation became public shortly after, when she said in an Aug. 28 resignation letter that she would work from home to complete pending projects and that staff working in the office would continue providing on-site services.
As for the future of the city clerk’s office, Roland said she would be available to assist with the transition to whoever takes over the position. She “strongly recommended” that city leaders reach out to the California Municipal Clerks Association for advice on qualified individuals who may be available to serve on an interim basis.
Roland did not state in her resignation letter why she was leaving the position she had held since November 2024. She was appointed interim city clerk in May 2024 and was hired permanently six months later, following the expiration of former City Clerk Eliza Garza’s contract. Roland's employment agreement called for a five-year term.
The potential change in city clerk leadership comes amid broader turnover among Stockton’s four charter officer positions during the current council’s tenure. Since January 2025, the city manager and city attorney positions have changed hands multiple times, while the city’s auditing work shifted from outside firm Moss Adams to UHY Advisors Mid-Atlantic Inc.
The turnover follows a 2025-26 San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury report, “Governance in Turmoil,” that criticized leadership instability at city hall. The report said council infighting, departures from established governance practices and interference with city staff hurt employee morale and contributed to the loss of experienced employees, increasing costs for severance, hiring and training.
The Sept. 15 meeting is the first since questions about who would lead the city clerk’s office surfaced to include a proposed interim appointment and the name of a potential successor.
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: Paige proposed as Stockton's interim city clerk after Roland resigns
