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.”…