{"id":97226,"date":"2025-12-16T20:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T20:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/97226\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T20:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T20:44:07","slug":"oakland-watchdog-dismisses-ken-houstons-complaint-against-senior-city-staffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/97226\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland watchdog dismisses Ken Houston\u2019s complaint against senior city staffer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several weeks ago, Councilmember Ken Houston publicly announced<\/a> he\u2019d filed an ethics complaint against Josh Rowan, a high-ranking city staffer, whom he accused of engaging in slander and \u201ccharacter assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s ethics watchdog has now dismissed Houston\u2019s complaint after finding no evidence of a violation.<\/p>\n

Tovah Ackerman, enforcement chief for Oakland\u2019s Public Ethics Commission, notified Rowan, head of the city\u2019s departments of transportation and public works, on December 4 that her office tossed Houston\u2019s complaint after a preliminary review.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout 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,\u201d Ackerman wrote.<\/p>\n

The ethics commission \u2014 a volunteer body that oversees Oakland\u2019s rules and laws related to campaign finance, lobbying, and government transparency \u2014 will be informed about the dismissal at an upcoming meeting on Jan. 21, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Houston did not respond to an interview request.<\/p>\n

Houston\u2019s complaint, which we\u2019ve reviewed, was short on details. Houston claims that Rowan falsely accused him of \u201cbid rigging\u201d but doesn\u2019t share additional context. The complaint also included Houston\u2019s 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 \u201cdoes this again.\u201d Houston filed his complaint on Oct. 30, and Rowan filed a separate complaint against Houston, on Nov. 4.<\/p>\n

According to Houston\u2019s complaint, the interaction in question took place during a conversation between Johnson and Hall regarding a paving contract. As we previously reported<\/a>, Houston questioned the city\u2019s decision about who should get the contract. Johnson told The Oaklandside that the interaction described in the complaint reflects how he remembers it transpiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Johnson said he told Hall to inform her boss about Rowan\u2019s comment because it was serious, and it was said \u201cin the back of a room where quite a few people heard the same thing.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Houston\u2019s complaint is dead, the ethics commission is still investigating Rowan\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his complaint, which we\u2019ve reviewed, Rowan accuses<\/a> Houston of engaging in a \u201csustained pattern of interference, intimidation, and misconduct\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Rowan also complained about Houston\u2019s 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<\/a> to Johnson, City Attorney Ryan Richardson, and Council President Kevin Jenkins decrying Houston\u2019s \u201cabusive\u201d and \u201cunprofessional\u201d behavior and asking that the council censure him.<\/p>\n

Houston has denied Rowan\u2019s allegations. Rowan declined to provide any comments to The Oaklandside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ackerman told The Oaklandside that Rowan\u2019s complaint has been placed in the commission\u2019s formalized process and is currently under preliminary review.<\/p>\n

\u00a0She 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, \u201cIt appears Council Member Houston\u2019s intent was to get ahead of my complaint and to discredit me with his frivolous, meritless complaint.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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