Oakland’s top bureaucrat quit in disgrace over private messages filled with sexually suggestive comments about female colleagues — but now taxpayers may be the ones footing the bill with a $400,000 goodbye check.
Former City Administrator Jestin Johnson, who resigned in May after the texts came to light, could receive a $409,737 severance package under a proposal floated by Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston.
The resolution would have directed the city to approve the payout, but Houston pulled it from this week’s meeting agenda. He said he could bring the matter back later this year.
Houston told KQED he came up with the idea himself and had not spoken with Johnson about it. He argued that because Johnson was “forced to resign,” the city could be vulnerable to a costly lawsuit.
“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.”
“Is it better to give up $400,000 than $3 million with all the expenses?” he added.
The proposed deal would require Johnson to give up any future legal claims against the city in exchange for the payout.
The eyebrow-raising proposal comes after text messages exposed Johnson and his lieutenant allegedly discussing female employees in crude terms multiple times.
In one 2024 exchange, Johnson told a subordinate he had to control himself around a high-ranking female city official.
“I’m telling you, you have to sit next to her,” he wrote. “I have to force myself to only look in her eyes. She had me a little giddy yesterday when we had to take pics.”
In another message, Johnson referred to a female staffer as his “kryptonite.”
“My goodness, [she] has a helluva walk,” he wrote.
Johnson’s original employment agreement included six months of severance if he was terminated without cause — but his resignation did not qualify him for that payout.
The Oakland mayor’s office declined to comment on the proposal, but residents quickly blasted the idea online, questioning why city leaders would consider rewarding an official who left under a cloud of controversy.
“Oakland taxpayers – it’s time to get LOUD. These are our tax dollars going to waste,” one user commented. “Look at how bad our basics are in Oakland like schools, roads, crime. We need to vote these city council members out and put in place people who give a damn about the basic Oaklander.”
Others pointed to a broader frustration with City Hall. Others pointed to a broader frustration with City Hall.
“Oakland residents get dysfunction. City Hall insiders get paid,” wrote Sam Singer, who leads a public relations firm.
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