Several weeks ago, Councilmember Ken Houston publicly announced he’d filed an ethics complaint against Josh Rowan, a high-ranking city staffer, whom he accused of engaging in slander and “character assassination.”
Oakland’s ethics watchdog has now dismissed Houston’s complaint after finding no evidence of a violation.
Tovah Ackerman, enforcement chief for Oakland’s Public Ethics Commission, notified Rowan, head of the city’s departments of transportation and public works, on December 4 that her office tossed Houston’s complaint after a preliminary review.
“Without evidence of private gain, there is no violation under the Government Ethics Act, therefore, we have decided to dismiss the misuse allegation for being outside of PEC jurisdiction and for lack of sufficient evidence to establish a potential violation,” Ackerman wrote.
The ethics commission — a volunteer body that oversees Oakland’s rules and laws related to campaign finance, lobbying, and government transparency — will be informed about the dismissal at an upcoming meeting on Jan. 21, 2026.
Houston did not respond to an interview request.
Houston’s complaint, which we’ve reviewed, was short on details. Houston claims that Rowan falsely accused him of “bid rigging” but doesn’t share additional context. The complaint also included Houston’s summary of a brief interaction that he claims happened on Oct. 28 between his aide, Trinity Hall, City Administrator Jestin Johnson, and Rowan, in which the latter supposedly said he would file an ethics complaint if Houston “does this again.” Houston filed his complaint on Oct. 30, and Rowan filed a separate complaint against Houston, on Nov. 4.
According to Houston’s complaint, the interaction in question took place during a conversation between Johnson and Hall regarding a paving contract. As we previously reported, Houston questioned the city’s decision about who should get the contract. Johnson told The Oaklandside that the interaction described in the complaint reflects how he remembers it transpiring.
Johnson said he told Hall to inform her boss about Rowan’s comment because it was serious, and it was said “in the back of a room where quite a few people heard the same thing.”
While Houston’s complaint is dead, the ethics commission is still investigating Rowan’s.
In his complaint, which we’ve reviewed, Rowan accuses Houston of engaging in a “sustained pattern of interference, intimidation, and misconduct” around the awarding of several multi-million-dollar public contracts. This includes the paving contract, which Rowan claims Houston interfered with by publicly advocating for a construction firm whose owners objected after the city decided to award the contract to a competitor.
Rowan claims that Houston violated Section 218 of the City Charter, which bars elected officials from directing city staff or interfering in administrative matters, such as city contracting.
Rowan also complained about Houston’s conduct to Johnson, his boss. Shortly after the Nov. 4 City Council meeting where Houston announced he had filed an ethics complaint, Rowan wrote an email to Johnson, City Attorney Ryan Richardson, and Council President Kevin Jenkins decrying Houston’s “abusive” and “unprofessional” behavior and asking that the council censure him.
Houston has denied Rowan’s allegations. Rowan declined to provide any comments to The Oaklandside.
Ackerman told The Oaklandside that Rowan’s complaint has been placed in the commission’s formalized process and is currently under preliminary review.
She shared amendments Rowan added to his complaint that accuse Houston of defaming him by calling him a liar. Rowan also wrote that in going to the ethics commission, “It appears Council Member Houston’s intent was to get ahead of my complaint and to discredit me with his frivolous, meritless complaint.”
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