Citrus Heights council members from left are: Tim Schaefer, District 5; former mayor Dr. Jayna Karpinski-Costa, District 4; Porsche Middleton, Vice Mayor, District 5; incoming Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff, District 2; Kelsey Nelson, Council Member, District 1 and Citrus Heights Police Chief Alex Turcotte. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - The city of Citrus Heights has welcomed a new mayor, with Mari Jane Lopez-Taff assuming her duties at last Wednesday’s city council meeting following a unanimous vote. Council Member Porsche Middleton was also selected by a unanimous vote as Vice Mayor. Each will serve one-year terms in 2026.

Bill Shirley, president of CHASEN District 2, presented the new mayor with a bouquet of red roses during opening public comment, acknowledging her service to both the city and the district she proudly served.

Members of the public, the Citrus Heights Police Department and city staff welcomed the incoming mayor with a round of applause, before returning to a full consent calendar.

Moments were set aside for group photos while individual council staff took time to move each of the plastic nametags on the dais to coincide with each council member’s new official seating assignment.

Outgoing mayor Dr. Jayna Karpinski-Costa, who served one year and three months after former Mayor Bret Daniels resigned his seat, passed the gavel to Lopez-Taff before the meeting officially resumed.

Karpinski previously served as mayor in 2011 during a prior term on the city council. She later left the council but then returned in 2022 after being elected to her District 4 seat. Her current four-year term expires in 2026.

Councilmember Middleton has also previously served as mayor and vice mayor. She was elected to the City Council in 2018 and was re-elected in November 2022 to represent City Council District 5. Her term also expires in 2026.

Lopez-Taff was elected to the City Council in November 2022 to represent City Council District 2. She had previously served as vice-mayor.

“Councilwoman Lopez-Taff has done a wonderful job representing District 2 and the city,” Shirley wrote in an email in advance of the city council meeting.

“She has been a great supporter of CHASEN (Citrus Heights Area Seven Eight Nine),” District 2 President Bill Shirley told council members.

“Mayor Mari Jane Lopez-Taff will be a great representative for the city of Citrus Heights. I am excited to see what she and the council can accomplish as she serves as mayor.”

The CHASEN District 2 area is bounded by Sunrise Boulevard on the west; the Placer County Line on the north; the communities of Orangevale and Fair Oaks to the east; and Greenback Lane to the South.

Lopez-Taff also represents the city on several boards including the Sacramento Public Library Authority, the Sacramento Steps Forward Homeless Policy Council, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District 2x2 Committee and serves as the city’s liaison to the Sunrise MarketPlace Business District (SMP).

Born and raised in San Francisco, she and her husband have three grown children, one grandchild and two cats. For several years, Lopez-Taff has owned her own small consulting and training firm, Taff Enterprises, and is currently a programs manager at a local education-related non-profit.  

Lopez-Taff is also an active board member of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce and a member of several local organizations including the Soroptomists International of Citrus Heights, a National Committee Chair for the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (NFBPWC) as well as a long-time member of the Citrus Heights Women's Club which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.