The Stockton City Council has scheduled a special closed session at 8 a.m. on Aug. 14 to appoint an acting city clerk during City Clerk Katherine Roland's temporary absence, 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 said in an email to The Record on Aug. 13.
Mannor did not respond to questions about whether Roland is on leave, the type of leave she is taking, when it began or when she is expected to return.
The council initially published an agenda late Aug. 12 listing a public employee appointment for an interim city clerk. A revised agenda posted the morning of Aug. 13 changed the position title to acting city clerk. Neither agenda identifies the person the council is considering for the position.
The meeting comes less than two weeks after three councilmembers sought to schedule a special closed session concerning Roland's position and days after Mayor Christina Fugazi called a separate closed session that was later canceled, according to emails obtained by The Record through a California Public Records Act request.
On July 31, District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla asked Roland to schedule a special meeting for Aug. 3 to consider a closed-session item concerning the discipline, dismissal or release of the city clerk. District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua and District 2 Councilmember Mariela Ponce concurred with the request.
The request followed an email exchange between Roland and Padilla over access to the city clerk's office. Roland had warned councilmembers that people who were not employees of the clerk's office had accessed the office and said she had requested a keycard audit. She said the office's access restrictions were particularly important because of its role in administering elections.
Padilla said she was unaware she had entered the city clerk's office without permission and that she had been showing her daughter the new council chambers.
Roland later characterized the request for the closed session as retaliatory, citing its timing and her recent efforts to restrict access to the clerk's office. She also pointed to a prior request for an investigation into 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 warned councilmembers in a July 1 email that adverse action against Roland in close proximity to her request for an investigation into Teramoto could expose the city to a retaliation claim because Roland could argue that she was a whistleblower.
Padilla disputed Roland's characterization of the July 31 request as retaliatory, saying it was based on separate concerns and was intended to provide "appropriate oversight and accountability, not retaliation." Villapudua also said his concerns about the performance, responsiveness and judgment of the city clerk's office predated the recent controversy.
The Aug. 3 meeting requested by Padilla, Villapudua and Ponce was never held. Instead, Fugazi directed Roland on Aug. 2 to post a special closed session for Aug. 4. That agenda included items concerning the discipline, dismissal or release of a public employee and the appointment of a city clerk.
Vice Mayor Jason Lee subsequently voiced concerns about the scheduling of that meeting, saying the sequence of events raised questions about compliance with the Brown Act and created the appearance that a serial meeting may have occurred. The Aug. 4 meeting was later canceled without the city publicly stating why.
Lee has also questioned whether the city attorney was authorized to offer Roland $250,000 to leave her position. He raised the issue in an Aug. 10 social media post but did not provide documentation of the alleged offer.
The council is now scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. on Aug. 14 at Stockton City Hall, 501 W. Weber Ave., to consider appointing an acting city clerk during Roland's temporary absence.
Unlike the Aug. 4 agenda, the Aug. 14 agenda does not include an item for the possible discipline, dismissal or release of a public employee. Its only closed-session item is the appointment of an acting city clerk.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at [email protected] 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 council to name acting city clerk during Roland's 'temporary absence'