Stockton's new city manager is a story of resilience and political resurrection. The city council approved Johnny Ford's hire on Tuesday in a unanimous vote of 7-0.

It comes 16 years after Ford was fired in 2009 as the deputy Stockton city manager in a botched termination for which he was later fully exonerated.

"After a thorough search, we found that the right person for Stockton was one of our own," Mayor Christina Fugazi said in a statement. "Johnny has lived here for many years, raised his family here, worships here, and has dedicated much of his life to serving this community. His heart is in Stockton, and I believe he is the person who can help bring this Council together so we can move our city forward."

Stockton's NAACP President Bobby Bivens supports Johnny Ford as Stockton's new city manager.

"He shouldn't have been fired in the first place," Bivens said. "So I'll start out with that."

Bishop Dwight Williams of New Genesis Outreach Ministries is also a Ford friend and supporter.

"For me personally, it's a sense of vindication for him," Williams said.

Ford was wrongly terminated as deputy city manager in Stockton in 2009. The city had to pay him a settlement after an investigation found he had done nothing wrong. He would go on to serve as Compton's assistant city manager and interim city manager.

Video from archived 2009 city council meetings shows packed chambers calling for justice in Ford's dismissal, which stemmed from false allegations over giving free Stockton Arena tickets to children. The city fired him before even conducting the investigation that cleared him.

"Somehow a great kerfuffle came out from behind that and got into a huge controversy all to its own," Williams said.

Now, Ford is poised to step back into the council chambers as the CEO of the city, still seeking better days ahead.

"It is ironic how history sometimes has a way of coming full circle," Williams said.

"It's important that we have someone who is familiar with the good, the bad and the ugly," Bivens said. "And he saw all of it."

Ford is expected to hit the ground running. His start date is set for Wednesday.