El Cajon City Attorney Morgan Foley is retiring at the end of December, following 38 years in public service.
Foley started as the city attorney for El Cajon in 2000.
“He’s just been a true blessing to everyone here at the city of El Cajon, as well as to me, as I have worked with the city, and so we just really appreciate and thank him for all that he has done,” said Noah Alvey, deputy director of community development for the city of El Cajon.
Foley began his public service career as a city attorney for the cities of Porterville and Visalia in central California. After that, he also served as the city attorney for Coronado and Poway. He was also general counsel for the North County Dispatch Joint Powers Authority.
He is not entirely retiring from practicing law. Foley said he will continue practice with his law firm, McDougal, Boehmer, Foley, Lyon, Mitchell & Erickson, which primarily deals with municipal issues.
When asked what his plans are now that he has retired from public service, Foley said, “More or less what I can have time for and less of what they need my time for, and golfing is on the top of that list.”
City leaders in El Cajon have already selected Jennifer Lyon as his replacement, starting on Jan. 1. She is employed by the same law firm as Foley.
Lyon has more than 23 years of experience practicing municipal law. She previously served as the city attorney for Calexico from 2005 to 2015, and is currently serving as the city attorney for Imperial Beach. She currently serves as general counsel to the Ramona Municipal Water District and the San Diego Convention Center Corp.
The El Cajon City Council decided to roll-over Foley’s employment contract to Lyon. Her annual salary will be $208,418.
Councilmember Phil Ortiz asked during an Oct. 8 meeting that she be reviewed for performance annually, similar to how the city manager is. The requirement was added to her employment contract.