12 Feb Antioch Appoints City Attorney, Police Commissioners

Josiah Ben-Oni Graham was appointed Tuesday to a partial term on the Antioch Police Oversight Commission. He is the body’s first member under the age of 25. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

Antioch City Council made a handful of appointments who will step into positions that advise officials on police oversight, development and city legal affairs at its Tuesday meeting.

The council appointed Lori Asuncion as its new city attorney and Josiah Ben-Oni Graham to the Police Oversight Commission. Porshe Taylor, the commission’s chair, was reappointed. Another three were appointed to the Planning Commission.

Asuncion and Graham fill positions that have not been permanently held since they were vacated by resignations last year.

“I am honored that the Mayor and Council chose me to serve the City of Antioch and contribute to the success, stability, and resilience of the community,” said Asuncion in a statement.

Asuncion spent 18 years with the city of Stockton, most recently serving as that city’s attorney. She received a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Stanislaus, and a juris doctor from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

Interim City Attorney Derek Cole said that Asuncion was an “exceptional, very talented” candidate with a “fantastic reputation.”

Officials have been searching for a new city attorney since Thomas Lloyd Smith resigned from the position in January 2025. Smith’s departure was preceded by a call from then-newly elected council member Don Freitas the month before, recommending his contract be terminated.

Asuncion will receive an annual salary of $288,000 and another $225,028 in benefits. The package totals $513,028 annually, according to the agreement.

Police overseers to help bring commission up to capacity

After filling three vacancies last year to ensure the Antioch Police Oversight Commission continued its meetings without the quorum issues that had plagued the body, the city lost three members near the end of 2025.

Former commissioners Treva Hadden, who resigned, and Lisa Elekwachi and Joe Mitchell, who termed out, left within a span of months.

Graham’s appointment fills one of those positions. With Taylor’s reappointment, it brings the city back in line with the five members that the U.S. Department of Justice specifies in its agreement with the city to resolve an investigation into police racism and misconduct. The city has dropped below that number twice since the agreement began in January 2025.

The APOC has not held a meeting this year because not enough members have shown up.

“I believe Antioch’s at an inflection point. We’re deciding what direction we want to take the city in and what kind of community we want to be,” said Graham, a former intern in the city manager’s office.

Graham, who is the first in the commission’s history to be under 25 years old, was welcomed by council members.

“I’m looking forward to hearing more from you on this commission. You do have power there. You don’t have to be voiceless there. Maybe one day you could be the chair,” said council member Tamisha Torres-Walker.

Taylor, the current chair and an inaugural member, was also acknowledged for her leadership. What the commission has accomplished is just the beginning, she said.

“It would have been remiss for me to leave when we have just gotten to a place where we are finally making the change that the city asks for,” said Taylor.

Graham’s term is a partial term that is set to expire in November 2026. Taylor was appointed to a full term until November 2028.

Another appointment to the APOC was delayed by council members to allow the proposed appointee to be at the meeting. Addison Peterson, a senior policy manager with California Certified Organic Farmers and an unsuccessful candidate for the District 3 City Council seat in 2024, was nominated by Bernal for appointment.