Oakland Official Says City Should Pay $409K to City Admin Who Resigned Over Text Scandal
Months after Oakland’s top administrator resigned over inappropriate text messages about female colleagues, a city council member said he wants to pay him over $400,000 in severance.
Councilmember Ken Houston on Thursday proposed granting former City Administrator Jestin Johnson the payment in exchange for a waiver of any potential legal claims against the city. Houston eventually pulled the item before the council was able to discuss it in a meeting, but said he would reintroduce the proposal later.
Johnson stepped down in May after a public records request revealed the messages from 2024. Johnson described a female subordinate as his “kryptonite” and wrote: “My goodness, [she] has a helluva walk.”
In another text to a former assistant city administrator, Johnson said a female department head “had me a little giddy,” adding, “I have to force myself to only look into her eyes.”
Under his original employment agreement, Johnson was entitled to six months of severance pay in the event of being terminated without cause.
But because he resigned, that severance provision was never triggered, so Houston’s resolution would require council authorization to create a new, alternative payout.
The mayor’s office, the city administrator and the city attorney were not behind the severance item. Houston brought it forward on his own.
“I planned to pull it this morning because I want to wait till after recess to bring it forward,” Houston told KQED ahead of the Rules and Legislation Committee meeting. “I’m definitely bringing it back.”
In May, Mayor Barbara Lee said she was unaware of the messages until they became public, and accepted his resignation shortly after.
“Under my watch, I will not tolerate transgressions of this nature,” Lee said.
Houston said that he did not partake in the discussions that led to Johnson’s departure and that he had not discussed the proposal with Johnson.
He’s pushing the severance, he said, because he believes Johnson was effectively “forced to resign” rather than leaving on his own — and because he worries the city could face an expensive lawsuit if it pays Johnson nothing.
“I’m a business person, I’m proactive,” Houston said. “If he sues, which I would do if I was in his position, it will cost the city.” Houston likened his proposed severance to “killing two birds with one stone.
“It’s helping someone that helped the city, and is being proactive for a lawsuit that may be possibly coming down the pipeline,” he said.
He asked, “Is it better to give up $400,000 than $3 million with all the expenses?”
Lee’s office declined to comment on Houston’s item or his claims that Johnson was essentially forced to resign.
Johnson did not respond to requests for comment.