The City Council hired James Johnson as city attorney, filling a role that has been occupied by an interim city attorney since the council fired Phaedra Norton last April.
The council voted 5-2 – with Council members Phillip Falcone and Chuck Conder dissenting – to approve the hire of James Johnson, an attorney whose background is a mix of public-sector legal work, municipal management and housing-focused law.
Most recently, Johnson served as general counsel for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), where he oversaw legal services for the agency's real estate, Section 8, public housing and litigation work, according to HACLA's website. Johnson's earlier background includes serving as deputy county counsel and team leader for Los Angeles County's Housing for Health program and general counsel for Rancho Los Amigos Hospital.
His work in the public sector includes service as an assistant city auditor for the city of Long Beach from 2008 until 2010, then city council member for Long Beach from 2010 to 2014 – after which he ran unsuccessfully for the elected position of Long Beach city attorney in 2014.
The city used an executive recruitment search firm to conduct a search in August 2025 and February 2026, according to the staff report, with a successful candidate identified last month after completing background checks and other pre-employment screenings.
Johnson will earn $372,624 per year in his new position, which begins July 17, and has a three-year contract with the city.
Falcone said he was "very pleased" with Johnson, but that he couldn't support the contract financially.
"The contract's just a little too much for me, and I am a strong anti 12-months severance type person, so that's a line in the sand for me," he said.
Falcone was not the only one with objections toward the position's salary and severance package.
Resident Jason Hunter urged the council to bring the item back in the following weeks with adjustments to the position's severance package and salary – calling it "preposterous."
Ahead of the vote to hire Johnson, the council unanimously voted – with Council member Chuck Conder absent – to waive the Sunshine Ordinance, which would have required the item to have been included on a regular agenda posted 12 days in advance, and not as an add-on item.
Council member Steven Robillard said waiving the Sunshine Ordinance was necessary because as a charter officer, the city attorney is needed as the city enters its 2026-27 fiscal year – and July 17 is the earliest Johnson could start due to contractual obligations with his current employer.
Some residents criticized the council for waiving the Sunshine Ordinance.
"None of this justifies bypassing public transparency," resident Keith Nelson said. "This is not an emergency, this is a longstanding management issue created by the council's own delays and failures. The Sunshine Ordinance exists exactly for moments like this, when the public deserves the time to review major decisions before elected officials take action. Hiring a city attorney is not routine housekeeping."
Nelson argued that the agreement should have been placed as a regular agenda item and that it should have been scheduled during the council's evening session, when more working residents could attend and speak.
"Waiving the city ordinance here sends a terrible message that when the issue is important enough, the city believes the public should get less notice, less time, and less access," he said. "This is backwards."
Riverside's previous city attorney was Phaedra Norton, who served from June 2021 until the City Council dismissed her without cause in April 2025.
The city did not publicly issue a reason for Norton's termination, though it came after she was placed on administrative leave in September 2024 following her filing harassment and Brown Act-related claims she had raised against Councilmembers Conder and Sean Mill, and a separate lawsuit she filed alleging open-meeting violations.
Assistant City Attorney Jack Liu stepped in as interim city attorney after Norton was placed on leave, and the council voted to appoint Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, who also served as assistant city attorney, as interim city attorney April 29, 2025.
