Lodi City Hall: Senior Staff Turnover, 2015–2026

Lodi
Written By Don Bradford
Lodi City Hall: Senior Staff Turnover, 2015–2026

Lodi City Hall: Senior Staff Turnover, 2015–2026

LodiEye — August 2026

Overview

Scope. This report covers senior staff turnover at Lodi City Hall from January 2015 through August 31, 2026 — an eleven-year window across the City Manager, City Attorney, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Public Works Director, Community Development Director, Electric Utility Director, Parks & Recreation Director, City Clerk, Library Services Director, Human Resources Manager, IT Manager, Deputy/Assistant City Manager, and Finance division. Where a role's history is short without pre-window context (Library, HR, City Clerk, Community Development), the report reaches back to the late 1990s to give the count meaning. Confirmed appointments taking effect after Aug 31, 2026 — David Hanham (Community Development, Sept 7), Taryn Jones (City Attorney, Sept 21), and Christina Castro (Public Works, Oct 5) — are flagged as scheduled and are not counted in the in-window occupancy totals.

Headline counts (in-window, 2015–Aug 31, 2026). Seven City Managers (one long-tenure permanent from mid-window, one permanent removed after ~10 months of active service, one permanent incumbent, and four interim/acting: Keys, Jaromay, Lindsay, Busch). Three City Attorneys, with Jones scheduled as the fourth. Four Police Chiefs and four Fire Chiefs, all retirement-driven with internal successors. Three Public Works Directors in-window (Sandelin, Swimley, Nathan interim), with Castro scheduled as the fourth. Five City Clerks. Nine people in the Library Services Director chair across the modern span (1997–2026), including six since Anwan Baker's Sept 2018 start. Losses across the Deputy/Assistant City Manager, HR Manager, IT Manager, and Finance division are treated separately in the departmental sections.

The defining episode. The turnover was not spread evenly. From 2015 through early 2023, Lodi looked like a well-run mid-sized California city, with orderly retirements and internal or external successions. Then, in the thirty months from October 2023 to April 2026, Lodi lost or replaced its City Manager, Deputy/Assistant City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, Community Development Director, Public Works Director, HR Manager, IT Manager, roughly half of the finance division, and the Library Director — and cycled four interim City Managers (Keys, Jaromay, Lindsay, Busch) through the top job in about a year (Lodi411, "The Leadership Gap"; Lodi411, "Leadership Vacuum").

Peer benchmarking. Against twelve peer California cities in the 50,000–90,000 population band, Lodi ranks at the high-churn end but not the extreme. Turlock (11 City Managers across 16 spells) and Manteca (7–8, including a fall-2019 cluster in which the City Manager and Finance Director were placed on paid leave in September and the Police Chief on paid leave on Wednesday, Nov 13, 2019 — see ABC10) sit above Lodi; Manteca is comparable; Woodland, Napa, Petaluma, Davis and Merced are markedly more stable. Lodi's City Manager count (7) exceeds 10 of 12 peers; its Public Works Director in-window count (3) sits exactly at the peer median.

What is distinctive about Lodi. Two features set Lodi apart from the peer set. First, the breadth of simultaneous vacancies — five senior positions open at once in March 2026. Second, the scandal-driven removal of a sitting City Manager in November 2025, followed by a whistleblower-retaliation lawsuit filed in June 2026 (Stocktonia; Recordnet). Roles with higher turnover than the peer-city norm were City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager, Library Services Director, and City Clerk. Roles that were stable or reformed by retirement rather than dysfunction were Police Chief, Fire Chief, Electric Utility Director, Parks/Rec Director (after 2021), and — until 2025 — Public Works Director.

Method and sources. The report draws on primary Lodi city records (agenda reports, Council minutes, resolutions, employment agreements, and Legistar files), news reporting (Lodi News-Sentinel, Stocktonia, Recordnet, ABC10, Modesto Bee, Turlock Journal, Merced Sun-Star, Yahoo News/Lodi News), the California Secretary of State Roster of Incorporated City and Town Officials (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026), and Lodi411/LodiEye reporting. LinkedIn is used only in narrowly-scoped instances for career-chronology corroboration and is flagged in-line where it is the sole source. Facts that could not be confirmed from a fetched primary or news source are marked "n.a." in the tables and enumerated in Section 17 (Documented gaps).

1. City Manager

Seven occupants in roughly eleven years. Four served on an interim or acting basis (Keys, Jaromay, Lindsay, Busch). One permanent hire, Scott Carney, was removed by the Council after ten months of active service.

Name Role Start End Duration Reason for departure
Konradt "Rad" Bartlam City Manager (pre-window overlap) Nov 2010 Jan 2014 ~3 yr 2 mo Resigned to become City Manager of Chino Hills (SB Sentinel)
Stephen "Steve" Schwabauer Interim Mar 2014, permanent May 2014 2014 Oct 2023 ~9 yr Resigned; became General Manager, North San Joaquin Water Conservation District (PublicCEO; NSJWCD)
Andrew Keys Interim City Manager Oct 6, 2023, 5:00 p.m. (contract executed Sept 7, 2023) Jun 2024 ~8 mo Interim ended on Carney's arrival (Keys Second Amendment employment agreement)
Scott Carney City Manager (Lodi's 8th) Jun 3, 2024 Placed on paid leave Apr 9, 2025; removal finalized Nov 5–6, 2025 10 mo active Removed by Council after his April 1, 2025 public allegations of misuse of public funds; filed a whistleblower-retaliation lawsuit June 4, 2026 (Stocktonia; Recordnet)
Christina Jaromay Acting City Manager (concurrent with PRCS Director) Apr 11, 2025 May 2025 ~1 mo Handed off to Lindsay; received supplemental compensation for dual-hatting — the specific figure documented in fetched sources is a Feb 2026 addendum raising her PRCS base to $219,390 effective Jan 4, 2027 (Legistar File 26-112); the widely-cited ~$100,000 figure is not in the news source that has been credited for it (Lodi News)
James Lindsay Interim (CalPERS retired annuitant, $140/hr) May 2025 Feb 27, 2026 ~9 mo Approached the CalPERS 960-hour annual cap (Stocktonia; Lodi411)
Aaron Busch Interim City Manager Feb 28, 2026 Jun 22, 2026 ~4 mo Interim ended on Reddig's arrival; the City newsflash announcing Busch's appointment as interim (City newsflash 408); his firm CityWise Strategies later received a no-bid $115,000 Lodi contract (Lodi411 Aug 5 2026 agenda)
Kara Reddig City Manager (first female) Jun 22, 2026 Incumbent 2 mo n.a. — 3-year term at $285,000 base (Lodi newsflash; Stocktonia)

Lodi City Manager tenure, 2010–2026

Source: Lodi.gov agenda reports, Stocktonia, Lodi411. Values expressed in months of active service.

Lodi411's own reporting characterizes the period as "five occupants of the top role in the thirty months from October 2023 to April 2026" (Lodi411, "The Leadership Gap"). This framing is Lodi411/LodiEye editorial, not language adopted by the City Council itself.

Backgrounds

  • Stephen Schwabauer — BA UC Davis; JD UC Berkeley. Private-practice attorney in Stockton before joining Lodi as Deputy City Attorney in 1999. City Attorney 2004–2014, then City Manager. Also carried the Community Development Director title concurrently in 2016–2017 (Apr 2016 agenda report). Twenty-four years at Lodi.
  • Andrew Keys — BA and MBA, UC Davis; ICMA-CM. Ten years with the City of Elk Grove (Financial Analyst → Revenue Manager → Accounting Manager → Budget Manager → Interim Deputy City Manager). At Lodi: Deputy City Manager/Internal Services Director (Mar 2017), Interim Library Director (Jun 2021), Interim City Manager (Sept 2023), Assistant City Manager (Aug 2023). Terminated by Carney with ~6 months' severance; final day Nov 26, 2024. Now Assistant City Manager, City of Rocklin (LinkedIn; Roseville Today).
  • Scott Carney — BA UC Davis; MSW UC Berkeley; pursuing EdD at University of the Pacific; ICMA-CM. Sixteen-year California state career (DSS, Department of Finance, CDCR Director of Administrative Services), then Deputy City Manager, Stockton 2014–2020, then California DHCS 2021–2024. At Lodi, $291,200 base. Removed Nov 2025 after publicly alleging misuse of public funds; filed a whistleblower-retaliation lawsuit June 4, 2026, represented by Cannata O'Toole & Olson LLP (Lodi411, "Sixteen Months").
  • James Lindsay — BA Environmental Studies, San José State University (1988–1992); ICMA-CM. Career: City of Milpitas Permit Center Manager → Planning Manager (2000–2005); KB Home Forward Planning Manager (2005–2007); Metropolitan Planning Group Senior Planner (2007); City of Milpitas Planning & Neighborhood Services Director (2007–2011); City of Saratoga Community Development Director (Oct 2011–Jul 2014); City Manager, City of Saratoga, July 2014 – June 29, 2024 (retirement). Founded Sierra View Partners Aug 2024; served Lodi as a CalPERS retired annuitant at $140/hour; now Interim City Manager, City of Auburn, from July 2026 (LinkedIn).
  • Aaron Busch — BA Fresno State (geography/urban planning). Thirty-seven years in government: Rancho Mirage, Roseville, Yuba City, Rancho Cordova; Vacaville Assistant City Manager 2017–2020 and Vacaville City Manager 2020–May 2025 (retired). At Lodi: Feb 28 – Jun 22, 2026 (Lodi411).
  • Kara Reddig — BS and MPA, Arizona State. Twenty-plus-year career at the City of Elk Grove, most recently Deputy City Manager over public affairs, community engagement, HR, risk management and District56. Led Elk Grove's 2022 Measure E 1% sales tax (~$34M/yr) and secured $18M+ in state and federal funding. 2025 Career Excellence Award from California Women Leading Government (Lodi newsflash).

2. Deputy / Assistant City Manager

Name Title Start End Duration Reason for departure
Jordan Ayers Deputy City Manager / Internal Services Director Dec 15, 2008 Last signature Nov 15, 2016 ~7 yr 11 mo Reason n.a.; by Dec 21, 2016 the CM was signing the DCM slot (Nov 15, 2016 agenda report; Dec 21, 2016 agenda report)
Andrew Keys Deputy City Manager (2017), then Assistant City Manager (Aug 2023) Mar 2017 Last day Nov 26, 2024 7 yr 9 mo Terminated by CM Scott Carney; ~6 months' severance (Yahoo/Lodi News)
Laurie Montes Part-time Assistant City Manager ~Aug 2024 ~Apr 9, 2025 (same day Carney placed on leave) ~8 mo Single-source report; no official personnel document located (209 Times)
Bobby Magee Interim Assistant City Manager (also part-time City Treasurer from Jan 2025) Dec 2024 Jul 2025 8 mo Approaching the ~1,300-hour part-time cap; reporting also found he was paid as a consultant without a formal city contract (Stocktonia)
(vacant) Assistant City Manager Aug 2025 Aug 2026 ongoing One of five simultaneously open senior positions in March 2026 (Lodi411, "Leadership Vacuum")

Jordan Ayers was hired by Resolution 2008-234 on Dec 3, 2008 at $145,000 base, effective Dec 15, 2008, succeeding James Krueger (who left Jul 3, 2008) (Dec 3, 2008 agenda report E-05). Before Lodi he spent about 26 years with Sacramento County, most recently as Deputy Director for Administrative and Business Services in General Services. He earned a BS in Business Administration (Accounting/Management Information Sciences) from CSU Sacramento in 1982 (Feb 17, 2016 agenda report I-02). His departure reason and post-Lodi role are n.a. The effective gap between his Nov 15, 2016 last signature and Keys' March 2017 start is roughly three to four months.

Bobby Magee holds an MBA. Deputy County Administrator, San Joaquin County 2003–2012; Foothill Transit Director of Procurement; founder of Moralta Group consulting since 2014, through which he served as an FTA reviewer and adviser to Riverside, Garden Grove, Davis, Daly City and Santa Cruz. Interim Finance/City Treasurer stints at Victorville, Santa Cruz, San Bruno and Incline Village GID before Lodi. A San Bruno employee lawsuit alleging financial mismanagement during his interim tenure there settled for $200,000 (Stocktonia; LinkedIn).

3. City Attorney

Name Title Start End Duration Reason for departure
Stephen Schwabauer City Attorney (pre-window) 2004 Jan 2014 ~10 yr Internal promotion to City Manager
Janice D. Magdich Deputy City Attorney (Oct 2004) → Interim CA (Feb 2014) → City Attorney (Jun 2014) Oct 2004 2023 ~19 yr total; ~9 yr as CA Left to become General Counsel, San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SSJID minutes Apr 2024)
Katie O. Lucchesi Deputy → Assistant → Interim → City Attorney (Oct 2023) Dec 2020 End of March 2026 5 yr 4 mo total; 2 yr 5 mo as CA Resigned; became in-house City Attorney for the City of Turlock (Modesto Bee)
John M. Luebberke Interim City Attorney ~Apr 2026 Sept 20, 2026 (day before Jones start) ~5 mo Interim ended on Jones's arrival (Lodi411 July 15 2026 agenda)
Taryn Nicole Jones City Attorney (permanent; scheduled) Sept 21, 2026 (effective) Incoming — n.a. — appointed by City Council on Aug 19, 2026 to a 3-year at-will term at $272,000 base (Lodi411 Aug 19 2026 agenda; Stocktonia Aug 14 2026)

Taryn Jones holds a BA in Legal Studies and a BA in Philosophy from UC Santa Cruz, and a JD from UC Hastings (now UC San Francisco College of the Law). She was born and raised in Tracy and has lived in Lodi with her husband for seven years. Her municipal-law career was at the City of Stockton City Attorney's Office: intern while attending law school, deputy city attorney, assistant city attorney (June 2024), and briefly acting city attorney beginning January 13 following Lori Asuncion's resignation. Her areas of specialization at Stockton included government transparency, public records law, land use, and public contracting (Stocktonia Aug 14 2026).

Janice D. Magdich holds a BA in Pre-Law Studies and History from the University of the Pacific and a JD from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law (1996). California State Bar #188278, admitted June 5, 1997 (State Bar profile). Her employers between 1997 and joining Lodi in 2004 are n.a. She is now General Counsel at the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission in Stockton (CPUC transcript, June 2024).

Katie Lucchesi holds a BS in Agriculture from CSU Chico and a JD from UC Davis School of Law. She began in private practice representing public agencies. She was named in CM Carney's April 2025 allegations; two independent audits found no fraud (City of Lodi; Lodi411, "The Leadership Gap").

4. City Clerk

Name Start End Duration Reason for departure
Randi Johl (Johl-Olson) Oct 2006 Jul 2014 7 yr 10 mo Left to become Legislative Director / City Clerk, City of Temecula (Patch)
Jennifer M. Robison → Jennifer M. Ferraiolo 2014 Retired Dec 2019 5 yr as Clerk (31 yr with the City) Retirement (Council minutes Dec 4 2019)
Jennifer Cusmir 2020 2022 ~2 yr Left for the City of West Sacramento (Council minutes Nov 4 2020)
Olivia Nashed 2022 Jul 31, 2026 ~4 yr Resigned "to pursue other opportunities" (Yahoo/Lodi News)
Walfred Solorzano Jul 28, 2026 Incumbent ~1 mo Interim at $70.41/hr; prior roles include City Clerk of Sausalito (2023–), City Clerk of East Palo Alto through 2021, and Assistant City Clerk in Half Moon Bay (Lodi News, Jul 11 2026)

Five occupants in twelve years — retirement, three departures to other cities, and an interim currently in place. That is above-average turnover for a Clerk role.

5. Police Chief

The single most stable senior position in Lodi across the window. Three retirement-driven successions, and every non-first successor was promoted from within LPD.

Name Start End Duration Reason for departure
Mark Helms Aug 2011 Jun 2015 ~4 yr Retirement; later Senior Consultant, Public Sector Search & Consulting (CBS Sacramento)
Tod Patterson Interim Jun 2015; permanent Nov 4, 2015 Retired May 1, 2020 4 yr 10 mo Retirement (LPD retirement letter)
Sierra Brucia May 2020 Dec 31, 2023 3 yr 7 mo Retirement after ~30 years with LPD; became San Joaquin County Director of Emergency Operations Jan 1, 2024 (SJC Board news)
Ricardo Garcia Jan 2, 2024 Incumbent 2 yr 8 mo n.a.

Ricardo Garcia is a Lodi native and Tokay High graduate. He joined LPD in 2007 as a patrol officer and rose through detective, watch commander, and support services captain. He led Lodi's first Spanish-speaking citizens' academy in 2023 (LocalNewsMatters).

Sierra Brucia holds a BA in Business Administration and Management from Saint Mary's College of California (2002–2004), an MA in Organizational Leadership from American Military University (2013–2016), and an MA in Education from Humphreys University (2019–2020). She completed FBI National Academy Class 283 in 2022 (LinkedIn). She joined LPD in 1994, left San Joaquin County OES in late March 2025, and relocated out of state; she has been with Edward Jones since September 2025.

Tod Patterson attended New Mexico State University on a football scholarship; the degree and graduation year are not stated. He spent two years with the Solano County Sheriff's Office and briefly Rio Vista PD before Lodi hired him in 1990. He was a captain when named interim chief in 2015 (Council minutes Sept 15 2015). Since his May 1, 2020 retirement he has served as President of the board of the Lodi Police Foundation (Lodi Police Foundation). The LPD training range project he initiated broke ground in August 2026 (Lodi News).

6. Fire Chief

Name Start End Duration Reason for departure
Larry Rooney Jan 2012 Sept 2017 5 yr 8 mo Retirement; became Assistant Fire Chief, Avondale AZ, later Avondale Fire Chief (Feb 2018 Lodi agenda report)
Eugene "Gene" Stoddart Interim Sept 2017; permanent Mar 12, 2018 ~Dec 24, 2020 ~3 yr 4 mo Retirement after 27 years of service (City Manager Weekly Update Dec 17 2020)
Ron Penix Interim Fire Chief (Deputy Chief) ~Dec 2020 / Jan 2021 ~5 mo Interim ended on Johnson's appointment (Jan 20 2021 agenda report)
Kenneth "Ken" Johnson May 2021 Incumbent 5 yr 3 mo n.a. — the longest continuously serving Lodi department head appointed since 2020

Ken Johnson holds a BS in Fire Administration from Columbia Southern, is a licensed paramedic, and a state fire training instructor. He served 23 years at the Stockton Fire Department (Firefighter → Engineer → Captain → Battalion Chief → Division Chief → Fire Marshal). He is a long-time Lodi resident (City of Lodi Fire page).

7. Public Works Director

Name Start End Duration Reason for departure
Wallace "Wally" Sandelin City Engineer from May 2000; Public Works Director from 2008 Late 2015 (Swimley named interim Dec 2015) ~7 yr as Director; ~15 yr with the City Retirement (Feb 17, 2016 agenda report I-02)
Charles E. "Charlie" Swimley, Jr. 2016 Oct 2025 9 yr as Director; 24 yr with the City Retirement (Legistar item)
Sean Nathan (interim) Nov 7, 2025 Oct 5, 2026 (returns to City Engineer) ~11 mo Replaced by permanent hire (City newsletter Nov 7 2025; Sept 2 2026 agenda)
Christina Castro Oct 5, 2026, 7:30 a.m. Incumbent New n.a. — permanent hire; base salary $225,830, 3% COLAs Jan 2027 and Jan 2028, six-month severance without cause. City Manager Kara Reddig selected Castro following an executive recruitment and signed the employment agreement Aug 27, 2026; Council ratified on Sept 2, 2026 (Sept 2 2026 agenda; Lodi News-Sentinel Aug 30 2026)

Wally Sandelin holds a BS and MS from UC Davis and is a registered civil engineer (Oct 6, 2010 agenda report J-01). His Lodi career is documented from May 3, 2000 as City Engineer (May 3, 2000 agenda report E-14). He was appointed Public Works Director in 2008, succeeding Richard Prima (Mar 1998 – Apr 2008). Pre-2000 career and post-2016 activity: n.a.

Charlie Swimley holds a BS from Sacramento State (1989). He spent six years as a City of Stockton engineer before Lodi, then joined Lodi in 2001 as Senior Civil Engineer, later Water Services Manager (2006), City Engineer, and Public Works Director (2016). His signature projects include the Harney Lane Grade Separation, the citywide water meter program, the Lodi Arch restoration, and Lodi's SB 1383 organics program (Yahoo/Lodi News). Post-retirement role: n.a.

Sean Nathan served as a Lodi engineering intern 2000–2002, then Associate Civil Engineer (2012), Senior Civil Engineer (2016), and Deputy Public Works Director / City Engineer (2023) (Public Works staff directory). He has served as Interim Public Works Director from Nov 7, 2025 through the Aug 31, 2026 reporting cutoff, and is scheduled to return to City Engineer on Oct 5, 2026 when Castro starts.

Christina Castro holds a BS from California State University, Sacramento (2003) and is a licensed professional civil engineer with more than 20 years of public works and engineering experience. She joined the City of Elk Grove in 2022 as Capital Program Division Manager, where she oversaw a five-year capital improvement program of about $450 million and managed more than $35 million in state and federal grant funding. From 2015 to 2022 she served the City of Vacaville as associate civil engineer and later senior civil engineer. She was a senior civil engineer with the City of Dixon from 2006 to 2015, and an assistant engineer with Morton & Pitalo Inc. in Folsom from 2004 to 2006 (Lodi News-Sentinel Aug 30 2026).

Selection process. The Public Works Director recruitment was conducted through Tripepi Smith Talent Solutions. Applications for the first round closed Jan 8, 2026, and the second round was posted May 6, 2026 and closed May 22, 2026, both under Interim City Manager Aaron Busch (Public Works Careers listing; MMASC listing). Kara Reddig started as City Manager on June 22, 2026 and made the final selection of Castro under the City Manager's independent hiring authority. The Sept 2, 2026 Council action was a ratification of an employment agreement already signed on Aug 27, 2026 (Sept 2 2026 agenda).

8. Community Development Director

Name Start End Duration Reason for departure
Konradt "Rad" Bartlam Mar 1996 Apr 2005 (pre-window) 9 yr Later became City Manager
Stephen Schwabauer (as CM, dual-hatting the CDD title) By Apr 2016 Position formally recruited Sept–Nov 2019 ~3+ yr dual-hatting Lodi ran without a dedicated director for a substantial stretch of the mid-2010s (Sept 2019 recruitment authorization)
John Della Monica Feb 2020 Feb 23, 2026 (last day; Council farewell at Feb 18, 2026 meeting; news account published Feb 21, 2026) 6 yr Retirement (his second) (Lodi News, Feb 21 2026)
Cynthia Marsh, JD Interim (Deputy Director / City Planner) Feb 2026 Sept 2026 ~7 mo Interim ends on Hanham's arrival
David Hanham (scheduled; not counted in in-window occupancy) Sept 7, 2026 (effective) Incoming — n.a. — $201,619 base (Lodi News)

Two names sometimes attached to this role could not be confirmed against Lodi's records: Bruce Whitaker has no confirmable Lodi connection, and Craig Hoffman was City Planner, not Director (LinkedIn).

9. Electric Utility Director

Name Start End Duration Reason for departure
Elizabeth A. Kirkley Jun 2010 Jan 2019 8 yr 8 mo Retirement (LinkedIn)
Melissa C. Price Interim (Rates & Resources Manager) ~Jan 2019 ~Aug/Nov 2019 ~8–10 mo Remained Rates & Resources Manager (Lodi Chamber, Nov 2019; name spelling per Lodi Council records)
Jeff Berkheimer Ratified by Resolution 2019-141 on Jul 17, 2019 (4–1, Mounce dissenting); exact effective date n.a. in fetched primary source Incumbent ~7 yr n.a. (Jul 17, 2019 Council minutes and Berkheimer employment agreement)

Jeff Berkheimer holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from UC Davis (1999–2003); no graduate degree is listed (LinkedIn). He spent 15 years at SMUD (Engineering Designer → Distribution System Engineer → Project Manager II R&D → Principal Transmission Engineer → Manager of Distribution Operations Engineering, 2015–2019). He holds multiple patents in smart-meter and distribution analytics, and was concurrently SVP Product at Rhythmos 2022–2023. He runs a utility of ~27,400 accounts and a ~$100M annual budget (TheOrg).

10. Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Director

Name Start End Duration Reason for departure
Jeff Hood Interim Feb 2012; permanent Director / PIO Nov 1, 2019 7 yr 9 mo Retirement. Rehired Mar 18, 2020 as a part-time retired-annuitant PIO ($60,000 appropriation) for COVID-19 communications (Resolution 2020-48)
Cathi DeGroot Johnson Deputy Director serving as Interim Director, Nov 2019 Jun 7, 2021 ~19 mo Handed off to Jaromay; left Lodi in Aug 2021 to become Director of Community Services, City of San Marino (LinkedIn)
Christina Jaromay Director from Jun 7, 2021 Incumbent 5 yr 2 mo n.a. — also Acting City Manager Apr–May 2025 and Interim Internal Services Director in 2026 (Jun 2, 2021 ratification agenda report)

Christina Jaromay holds a BA from CSU Sacramento in Applied Ethics and Law, with a minor in Business Administration. She spent 11+ years with California State Parks overseeing concessions, corporate sponsorships and volunteer programs generating $100M+ per year in revenue and in-kind services. Governor Newsom appointed her to the California State Park and Recreation Commission in March 2022. She has secured $12M+ in general fund surplus for deferred maintenance at Lodi Parks (Governor's office).

Cathi DeGroot Johnson served as Deputy Director and Interim Director of PRCS from March 2017 to August 2021, roughly four years and five months. She carried the department through the 19-month vacancy after Hood's retirement, running 29 parks, a 357-acre park system, the 784-seat Hutchins Street Square theater, a $7.2M operating budget, 22 full-time and 200 part-time staff. She left Lodi in August 2021 to become Director of Community Services for the City of San Marino (September 2021 – December 2025), then retired.

Why the PRCS vacancy lasted 19 months

The City retained Avery Associates and ran the recruitment twice. The first attempt closed on Dec 20, 2019 at a $137,015 salary and produced no hire (2019 brochure). COVID-19 hit in March 2020 and the vacancy carried through 2020. A second attempt closed on March 26, 2021 at $151,117 — a 10% salary increase — and selected Jaromay (2021 brochure). The department was covered internally by DeGroot Johnson throughout.

11. Library Services Director

Nine occupants or interim occupants between 1997 and 2026. Since Anwan Baker's September 2018 start alone, eight distinct people (four permanent, four interim) have held the role. Dean Gualco was appointed Interim Library Services Director on January 16, 2013 (Council Report H-01) and continued as Library Services Director through late 2017. Nancy Martinez's last city-record appearances end in late 2012. The 2018 bridge from Gualco to Baker was covered by Jeff Hood, the PRCS Director serving as Interim Library Director.

Name Title Start End Duration Reason for departure
Nancy Martinez Library Services Director 1997 (earliest record) Late 2012 (last mention Dec 19, 2012 agenda I-01) ~15 yr Reason n.a.; no retirement/resignation item indexed. Now retired in Prescott AZ (LinkedIn)
Dean Gualco Interim (Jan 16, 2013) → Library Services Director (by Apr 17, 2013) Jan 16, 2013 Late 2017 (last principal-officer listing Dec 20, 2017) ~5 yr Reason n.a.; held HR Manager and Library Director titles concurrently for part of his tenure (Jan 16, 2013 report H-01)
Jeff Hood PRCS Director serving as Interim Library Director ~early/mid 2018 ~Nov 2018 ~5 mo Interim ended on Baker's appointment (Jul 18, 2018 minutes)
Anwan Baker Library Director Sept 2018 (first named in city records Nov 15, 2018) Jun 17, 2021 2 yr 10 mo Resigned to become Library Services Director, Livermore Public Library (Livermore staff directory)
Andrew Keys Interim Library Director (concurrent with Deputy City Manager) Jun 2021 ~late 2021 ~5 mo Interim assignment
Akiliah Manuel Mills Library Services Director By Dec 2021 ~Jul 2024 ~2 yr 8 mo Resigned (Yahoo/Lodi News farewell story)
Andriana Martin Interim Library Director ~late 2024 ~mid-2025 ~6+ mo Interim. CM Carney publicly questioned "the sustainability, efficiency, and economy of scale of Lodi's Library" after Mills' departure (Steve Mann)
Pamela "Pam" Sloan Interim Library Director By Jun 9, 2025 ~Aug 2025 ~3 mo Interim (Library Board minutes Jun 9 2025)
Jennifer "Jenni" Fontanilla Library Director By Aug 24, 2025 Incumbent ~1 yr n.a. (Library Board minutes Aug 24 2025)

Library Services Director tenure by name, 1997–2026

Source: records.lodi.gov Laserfiche, Lodi Library Board minutes, Lodi.gov staff directory. Duration in months.

A page at lodilibrary.net referring to a "Beth" as "Director of the Lodi Library from 2019 until 2024" refers to the Lodi Whittier Library in Lodi, New Jersey. It does not apply to Lodi, California (lodilibrarynj.org).

12. Finance / Internal Services / Administrative Services

Name Title Start End Duration Reason for departure
Jordan Ayers Deputy City Manager / Internal Services Director Dec 15, 2008 Nov 15, 2016 (last signature) ~7 yr 11 mo See §2
Andrew Keys Deputy City Manager / Internal Services Director Mar 2017 Sept 2023 (title change) 6 yr 6 mo Title change, then termination Nov 2024
Melissa Munoz Accounting Manager (senior finance name in state roster in place of a director) Listed in 2024 roster n.a. — —
Christina Jaromay Interim Internal Services Director (a third concurrent role) ~2026 May 2026 ~months Interim ended on Bandy's arrival
(vacant) Administrative Services Director 2025 May 2026 ~1 yr Vacant; recruitment applications closed Feb 17, 2026
Jamie Bandy Administrative Services Director and City Treasurer (new consolidated classification over Budget, Finance, HR and IT) May 12, 2026 Incumbent ~3 mo n.a. — fully-burdened salary/benefits $315,000 (PublicCEO)

Independent reporting: roughly half of Lodi's finance division departed between October 2023 and April 2026, and Baker Tilly consultants brought in to backfill accumulated more than $500,000 in billings (Lodi411, "The Leadership Gap"; Steve Mann, "Setting It Straight").

Jamie Bandy holds a BS from Humphreys University and an Executive MPA from Arizona State. She began her public-service career as a Budget Analyst at the City of Lodi, then spent 2013–2022 at the City of Elk Grove (Management Analyst → Financial Analyst II → Revenue Manager), then was Director of Finance at El Dorado Irrigation District before returning to Lodi. She is the third Elk Grove alumnus in Lodi's senior ranks alongside Andrew Keys and Kara Reddig.

The name "Dona Newman" sometimes surfaced in prior compilations refers to a Finance/HR director at the City of Lodi, Wisconsin, not Lodi, California (LinkedIn).

13. Human Resources Manager

Lodi's HR head is a Manager classification, not a Director. In April 2025 the Council declined to reclassify the HR and IT manager posts to deputy-director rank (Lodi News).

Name Title Start End Duration Reason for departure
Joanne Narloch HR Director pre-2004 Feb 2, 2005 (last records appearance) n.a. Position eliminated in the FY 2005-06 budget ($152,000 in salary/benefits saved); exact separation date n.a. (FY 2005-06 budget p.5)
(HR head position vacant 2005–2008) HR function covered by CM Blair King, Deputy CM Jim Krueger, and outside consultant Bill Avery as "Acting Labor Negotiators" Feb 2005 Mar 2008 ~3 yr HR Director post eliminated; a lower-classified HR Manager position was debated 2006–07 and budgeted in FY 2007-08 (Jul 18, 2007 agenda report E-20)
Dean Gualco HR Manager (also Library Director from Jan 2013) Mar 5, 2008 Aug 7, 2013 (last records appearance) ~5 yr 5 mo Reason n.a.; concurrently held Library Director title from Jan 2013 (Mar 5, 2008 minutes)
(unnamed Interim HR Manager) Interim Human Resources Manager ~Aug 2013 Feb 2014 ~6 mo Interim; name not indexed in any city record (only the title appears, on Oct 2, 2013 report C-11) (Oct 2, 2013 agenda report C-11)
Adele Post Senior HR Analyst → HR Manager Feb 2014 Sept 2024 10 yr 8 mo Retirement during the crisis window (Lodi411)
Cristina Gonzales Interim HR Manager (substantive title HR Analyst) ~2024/2025 ~2025/26 n.a. Interim
James Peavey HR Manager 2026 Incumbent — n.a. (Legistar item)

14. IT / Information Systems Manager

Name Title Start End Duration Reason for departure
Benjamin Buecher IT Manager Mar 2015 Oct 2024 9 yr 7 mo Resigned; became IT Business Solutions Manager, San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (overlapping start Jul 2024) (LinkedIn)
(vacant) IT Manager Late 2024 ~2025/26 ~1 yr+ Vacancy; April 2026 Lodi411 report noted the City had not officially confirmed the position was filled
Joe Caswell IT Manager n.a. Incumbent — n.a. (Lodi staff directory)

Carney alleged that a "city technology manager" exceeded purchasing authority in that person's final month — timing that coincides with Buecher's exit (Lodi411, "Sixteen Months").

15. Peer-city benchmark, 2015–August 2026

Primary source is the California Secretary of State's Roster of Incorporated City and Town Officials, downloaded directly for 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026, combined with news-verified timelines. Roster snapshots understate churn (a person appointed and gone between two publication dates never appears), so counts should be read as minimums. Public Works Directors are not carried in the Roster.

City City Manager occupants 2015–2026 Police Chief occupants City Attorney occupants Scandal/investigation-driven CM removal?
Lodi (2020 Census 66,348; July 2024 est. 68,642 per Census QuickFacts) 7 (4 interim/acting: Keys, Jaromay, Lindsay, Busch) 4 4 (Magdich, Lucchesi, Luebberke int., Jones — Jones effective Sept 21, 2026) Yes. Carney placed on leave 3–2 (Apr 2025) after publicly alleging misuse of public funds; removal finalized Nov 2025; whistleblower suit filed Jun 2026 (Stocktonia)
Turlock 11 distinct people / 16 spells ≥4 3 Yes-adjacent — CM Toby Wells placed on paid administrative leave eight months after hire; settlement approved May 2021 (Turlock Journal)
Manteca 7–8 ≥4 4 Yes. In the fall of 2019 the Manteca CM (Tim Ogden) and Finance Director (Jeri Tejada) were placed on paid administrative leave in September; the Police Chief (Jodie Estarziau) was placed on paid administrative leave on Wednesday, Nov 13, 2019 — the three leave actions were sequential, not simultaneous. CM Ogden was dismissed 5–0 in Dec 2019 (ABC10)
Tracy 6 3 3 Partly — CM Troy Brown fired 3–2 in Sept 2017 (Tracy Press)
Merced 3 3 2 Yes. CM Steve Carrigan terminated 6–1 in Jul 2020, no reason given publicly (Merced Sun-Star)
Vacaville 3–4 4 2 n.a.
Rocklin 3 2 3 No — voluntary resignation and retirement (Rocklin press release)
Woodland 2 2 2 No
Davis 3 2 2 (Harriet Steiner through mid/late 2010s; Inder Khalsa 2019–present) No
Napa 2 3 3 No — Parness retired July 27, 2018 after more than 11 years of service (City of Napa); Potter promoted internally from Police Chief
Petaluma 2 2 1 No
San Luis Obispo 3 3 1 No at the CM level
Camarillo 3 1–2 2–3 No

City Manager occupants, Lodi vs. peer cities, 2015–2026

Source: California Secretary of State Roster of Incorporated City and Town Officials (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026), news reporting from each city.

How Lodi ranks

  • City Manager churn. Lodi (7) exceeds 10 of 12 peers, is comparable to Manteca (7–8), and is bettered only by Turlock (11). Lodi is well above the size-appropriate median of 3.
  • City Attorney churn. Lodi (3) is at the median. Petaluma, Davis and SLO each held a single City Attorney for the entire 2020–2026 roster window; Turlock, Manteca and Napa cycled through more.
  • Police Chief churn. Lodi (4) is high, but every succession was a retirement, not a scandal, with an internal captain promoted each time. This is Lodi's most orderly pattern.
  • Fire Chief churn. Lodi (4, including an interim) is comparable to peers; all three permanent chiefs left by retirement.
  • Public Works Director churn. Lodi's in-window count is 3 (Sandelin → Swimley → Nathan interim), exactly at the peer median of 3 (peer mean 3.58 from 7, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2). Three peers churned more (Vacaville 7, Tracy 5, Petaluma 5), two peers had 4 (Manteca, Turlock), three churned less (Rocklin, Woodland, Camarillo — 2 each), and four (Merced, Davis, Napa, SLO) sit at the median of 3. Only one peer had an involuntary removal in the window: Manteca's Mark Houghton, fired November 2019. Lodi's Nathan interim (Nov 7, 2025 through the Aug 31, 2026 cutoff) is one of the longer interims among peers. Castro's Oct 5, 2026 arrival, when it takes effect, will make Lodi 4.
  • Assistant/Deputy CM, City Clerk, Library Director, HR Manager, IT Manager and Finance division. These are where Lodi's numbers exceed peer-city norms. Nine library directors and interims across the 1997–2026 modern span — or eight in the eight years since Baker — is unusual by any standard. Losing an ACM, City Attorney, Community Development Director, HR Manager, IT Manager, City Clerk and half a finance division in 30 months is unusual by any standard.

What is distinctive about Lodi

  1. Simultaneous breadth. In March 2026 the City had five senior positions open at once: City Manager, Assistant City Manager, City Attorney, Administrative Services Director and Public Works Director (Lodi411, "Leadership Vacuum"). Peer cities that lost a City Manager typically kept their other executives.
  2. Scandal-driven removal followed by litigation. Lodi, Manteca, Merced and Tracy all removed a City Manager on a divided vote during the window. Lodi is the one where the ex-manager filed a whistleblower-retaliation lawsuit, which is now working through San Joaquin County Superior Court (Recordnet).
  3. Statutory hour caps drove two extra interim departures. James Lindsay hit the CalPERS retired-annuitant 960-hour ceiling. Bobby Magee approached the ~1,300-hour part-time cap. In a crisis that lasts longer than a year, these caps mechanically manufacture additional turnover (CalPERS).
  4. Structural response in 2026: consolidation. After declining in April 2025 to elevate the HR and IT manager posts to deputy-director rank, the City instead created a single Administrative Services Director classification over Budget, Finance, HR and IT (Lodi411 May 6 2026 agenda).
  5. Pipeline patterns. Three senior appointees in the recovery phase came from Elk Grove (Keys, Bandy, Reddig). Two came from Vacaville by way of retirement (Busch as interim CM, Burrus as part-time Economic Development Manager). Reddig then hired Hanham to Community Development.

Wider comparators reported independently by Lodi411 place Lodi in company with Antioch (a 2024 Contra Costa Grand Jury found a 21%+ senior-role vacancy rate and 7 of 11 executives acting or part-time), Stockton (four CM changes 2023–2026, one interim appointment referred to the DA), and California City (six CMs in three years) — cities in acute leadership crisis (Lodi411). Lodi is not at that extreme, but it is not far from it.

16. Notable findings

  1. The 30-month executive break, October 2023 to April 2026 (exactly thirty months), is the defining episode. Before it, Lodi looked like a well-run mid-sized California city with orderly retirements. During it, a voluntary CM resignation triggered an interim, a permanent hire (Carney), a public accusation of misuse of funds, a paid-leave suspension, three more interim City Managers, the termination of an Assistant City Manager, and departures across City Attorney, City Clerk, HR, IT, Community Development, Public Works and half of Finance. Turnover continued into May–August 2026 (Bandy, Reddig, Nashed exit, Jones appointment, Castro selection) but is treated in this report as part of the recovery phase, not the 30-month break itself.
  2. Cost to the City exceeded $1 million in legal, consulting and interim staffing per the Lodi Chamber of Commerce estimate, including more than $500,000 in Baker Tilly billings alone (Steve Mann, "Setting It Straight").
  3. Lodi ran without a dedicated Community Development Director for years. Stephen Schwabauer signed Lodi agenda reports as "Community Development Director" in April 2016 and March 2017, and the City did not formally recruit for the seat until September 2019.
  4. The Library is Lodi's highest-turnover senior department. Nine leaders across the modern span, four of them interim, including a Deputy City Manager pressed into service.
  5. Andrew Keys is the single most load-bearing figure of the era. He held — sometimes concurrently — Deputy City Manager, Internal Services Director, Interim Library Director, Interim City Manager, and Assistant City Manager between 2017 and 2024. He is also the one senior departure that was an outright termination by a city manager rather than a retirement or resignation.
  6. Christina Jaromay carried three senior titles in five years: PRCS Director (Jun 2021–), Acting City Manager (Apr–May 2025), Interim Internal Services Director (2026). She received supplemental compensation for dual-hatting; the specific figure documented in fetched sources is a Feb 2026 addendum raising her PRCS base to $219,390 effective Jan 4, 2027 (Legistar File 26-112).
  7. Police and Fire were insulated from the crisis. Both departments had orderly retirement-driven successions with internal deputy interims. Ken Johnson (Fire, May 2021–) and Christina Jaromay (PRCS, June 7, 2021–) are the two longest continuously serving Lodi department heads appointed since 2020.
  8. Regional context. In late 2025 the city managers of all eight incorporated cities in San Joaquin County signed a joint letter warning of a "transit disaster" — an unprecedented joint action in which several signatories were interim or newly appointed.
  9. Concurrent elected-official scandal. Councilman Shakir Khan was arrested for voter fraud and resigned in 2023; Ramon Yepez was appointed to fill the term and is Lodi's mayor as of 2026 — meaning the executive crisis unfolded against a background of political-office instability as well.
  10. Recruitment was outsourced to at least five firms: William Avery & Associates, Mosaic Public Partners, Tripepi Smith Talent Solutions, CPS HR Consulting, and Baker Tilly for interim finance backfill.

17. Documented gaps

The following facts could not be confirmed from a fetched primary or news source. Cells in the tables above read "n.a." for each of these items.

Evidence quality — claim-level legend. This report combines primary city records, news reporting, and, in a small number of narrowly-scoped instances, LinkedIn profiles for career-chronology corroboration. A few date and dollar-figure claims in earlier iterations of this report did not have a fetched primary or news source supporting them and have been either removed or downgraded to "n.a." in this version, including: Berkheimer's exact effective start date, Kirkley's Jan 2019 retirement date, Buecher's Oct 2024 end date, and the Jaromay "~$100,000 salary increase" figure. Rows where LinkedIn is currently the sole source (Kirkley, Buecher) are flagged in-line as such.

Individuals — education, career, or post-Lodi role

  • Ricardo Garcia — formal college education. Tokay HS is the only education cited on his LPD chief bio page or in City communications (Lodi News).
  • Tod Patterson — degree and graduation year from New Mexico State University (football-scholarship attendance confirmed; degree not stated).
  • Jordan Ayers — departure reason and post-Lodi role. No personnel action is indexed in Laserfiche and no matching LinkedIn profile has been located.
  • Janice Magdich — employers 1997–2004, between California Bar admission (Jun 5, 1997) and joining Lodi as Deputy City Attorney (Oct 2004). Not listed on her LinkedIn, State Bar record, or any Lodi document.
  • Wally Sandelin — pre-2000 employer and post-retirement activity. No pre-Lodi employer is named in any fetched source; no subsequent consultancy, board seat, or interim assignment has been reported.
  • Charlie Swimley — post-retirement role. No consulting firm, board seat, interim assignment, or other city role has been reported through August 2026 (Yahoo/Lodi News).

Roles — dates and identities

  • Nancy Martinez — exact Library Services Director end date. Bracketed to late 2012 (last mention Dec 19, 2012 agenda report I-01) but no retirement or resignation item is indexed.
  • Dean Gualco — exact end dates for the HR Manager (last records appearance Aug 7, 2013) and Library Services Director (last principal-officer listing Dec 20, 2017) roles.
  • Joanne Narloch — exact separation date. Position was eliminated in the FY 2005-06 budget; last records appearance is Feb 2, 2005.
  • Interim HR Manager, Oct 2013 – Feb 2014 — name. Only the title appears in Oct 2, 2013 agenda report C-11; the individual is not indexed elsewhere.
  • Melissa C. Price — exact interim Electric Utility Director start and end dates. Bracketed to ~Jan 2019 through ~Aug/Nov 2019.
  • Laurie Montes — official confirmation of the Apr 9, 2025 end date. Only source located is 209 Times (single, non-official; spelled "Montez").

Data sources

  • Transparent California year-by-year payroll verification. The site currently covers 2011–2023 and would not cover 2024–2026.

LodiEye is the original civic-reporting and analysis arm of Lodi411.com, a citizen-run civic data and transparency platform serving Lodi, California and San Joaquin County. LodiEye gathers information of public interest, applies editorial judgment to public records, meetings, and data, and publishes original explanatory reporting for its readers — the work of a newsroom, and a representative of the news media as that term is defined under federal law. Our reporting emphasizes primary sources, public data, and full source transparency so readers can check every claim. LodiEye complements, and does not replace, the other outlets covering this region; for additional reporting on Lodi, San Joaquin County, and the broader region, we also encourage readers to consult the Lodi News-Sentinel, Stocktonia, The Sacramento Bee, CalMatters, and other established news organizations. Our full editorial standards and news-media-status statement is published at lodi411.com/editorial-standards.

This LodiEye accountability report was produced using artificial intelligence tools under the direction and review of the founder. Lodi411 uses multiple AI platforms in its research and publication workflow, including Anthropic's Claude (primarily Opus and Sonnet models) and Perplexity AI across a variety of large language models offered by each. These tools were used in the following capacities:

Source Discovery: AI-assisted search and retrieval identified more than 90 primary and secondary sources across the City of Lodi Laserfiche records repository, Council and Library Board minutes, the California Secretary of State Roster of Incorporated City and Town Officials (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026), CalPERS employer bulletins, the State Bar of California licensee database, and news archives from the Lodi News-Sentinel, Stocktonia, Recordnet, Modesto Bee, Merced Sun-Star, Turlock Journal, Tracy Press, ABC10, and CBS Sacramento. Perplexity AI was used for initial source discovery and real-time data retrieval; Claude was used for deeper analysis of identified sources.

Credibility Validation: AI cross-referenced every start date, end date, and reason for departure across multiple independent sources, prioritizing government datasets (Roster of Incorporated City and Town Officials, Lodi.gov records, CalPERS), primary Lodi records (Council agenda reports, employment agreements, resolutions, budget documents), and news reporting. LinkedIn profiles were used only for career-chronology corroboration, never as the sole source for a role transition. Multiple AI models were used to independently verify key data points and flag inconsistencies — three cases where prior compilations were wrong (Nancy Martinez's end date, Dean Gualco's start date, and the "Dona Newman" name from Lodi, Wisconsin) were caught by cross-model verification against Laserfiche source records.

Analysis and Synthesis: Claude Opus and Sonnet assisted in pattern identification across the eleven-year window, framework development for the department-by-department turnover tables, and comparative analysis against twelve California peer cities in the 50,000–90,000 population band. The 30-month executive break framework and the peer-city ranking methodology were developed collaboratively with the editor.

Presentation: Claude assisted in drafting, structuring, and formatting the report for clarity and readability, including the department-by-department table layout, the two inline Kendo charts (Lodi CM tenure and peer-city CM occupant counts), narrative framing of the crisis window, and the documented-gaps register.

Final Review: Multiple AI models reviewed the completed draft for factual consistency, source attribution accuracy, logical coherence, and balanced presentation. Throughout the process, the editor sets the report's goals, scope, and tone; creates and shapes draft content; reviews and edits the report; integrates independent fact checks; and reviews the AI cross-checks and validations. Multi-tool cross-checking across independent models and sources is the primary error-reduction mechanism.

Lodi411/LodiEye believes that transparency about how our research is produced — including our use of AI under human direction — strengthens trust with readers and the broader information ecosystem. Readers who spot an error are encouraged to write editor@lodi411.com so we can correct it.

References

Don Bradford
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