The severance resolution for Jestin Johnson, who resigned in May over disparaging texts about female colleagues, didn’t come from the mayor or the city attorney, but a single councilmember.

Jul 16, 2026

Updated 3:28 pm PT

Oakland City Council Member Ken Houston attends a city council meeting at City Hall in Oakland on July 2, 2025. Councilmember Houston argues that the six-figure payout would shield the city from a costly lawsuit, but city officials maintain that they had no part in drafting the resolution. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

Months after Oakland’s top administrator resigned over his text messages that disparaged female colleagues, a city councilmember is asking to pay him over $400,000 in severance.

Former city administrator Jestin Johnson stepped down in May after his messages from 2024 emerged. 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.”

Councilmember Ken Houston on Thursday proposed granting Johnson the payment in exchange for a general release and waiver of any potential legal claims against the city. Later that morning, however, Houston pulled the item before the council’s Rules and Legislation Committee was able to discuss it in a meeting. But he promised that his proposal would return.

Oakland City Hall in Oakland on April 28, 2025.

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, officials who normally negotiate such agreements, were not behind the severance item, according to city sources. 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.”

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.