Oakland’s plan to hand a disgraced ex–city administrator about $400,000 to walk away quietly is a sharp reminder that government insiders still seem to play by a different set of rules than everyone else.
Story Snapshot
- A former Oakland city administrator who resigned after crude texts may still get about $409,000 in severance.
- The payout was proposed by a councilmember as a way to avoid a lawsuit, even though the contract did not guarantee severance after a resignation.
- Federal guidelines say most workers who resign do not qualify for severance, fueling public anger over this deal.
- The proposal was pulled from a vote after heavy backlash, but it could return later, keeping the debate alive.
How a Raunchy Text Scandal Turned Into a $400,000 Question
Former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson resigned in May after texts surfaced where he made sexual and mocking comments about female coworkers’ bodies. The messages became public as part of a Federal Bureau of Investigation corruption probe into former Mayor Sheng Thao, adding a layer of scandal that went beyond bad jokes. Johnson stepped down after an internal investigation, not after a formal firing, which is key to the money fight now.
Johnson’s contract said he could get six months of pay as severance if he was fired “without cause,” but the city did not fire him. Instead, he resigned, which normally means no severance. Under federal Office of Personnel Management rules, resignations are considered voluntary and usually do not qualify for severance pay. That basic rule is why many Oakland residents are stunned the city is even considering paying him hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
The Inside Deal: Why a Councilmember Wants to Pay Anyway
Councilmember Ken Houston has pushed a new resolution that would pay Johnson $409,737.24, roughly a full year of top city administrator pay. In exchange, Johnson would sign a waiver promising not to sue the city in the future. Houston argues this is a smart business move. He says if he were in Johnson’s shoes, he would sue Oakland, and that a lawsuit could cost “millions” in legal fees and payouts, far more than this proposed severance.
Houston also says Johnson was “forced” to resign and did “a great job” for the city, suggesting the scandal should have led to discipline, not removal. That framing matters because if a court ever agreed Johnson was pushed out, it might treat the exit more like an involuntary firing. Still, Houston admits he has not spoken to Johnson about any lawsuit or this severance plan since the resignation. That means the legal threat he describes is based on his own view, not on clear public evidence from Johnson or his lawyer.
Public Outrage, Deep Distrust, and a Familiar Pattern
News of the possible payout set off a wave of anger online and in local media, with headlines calling the idea “outrageous” and “morally wrong.” Taxpayers asked why someone who sent gross sexual texts about coworkers should get what looks like a reward for bad behavior. Some residents told reporters they saw the deal as more proof that city leaders protect insiders while everyday people struggle with high costs, crime, and failing services. The scandal tapped into a deep distrust of what many call the “political class.”
Oakland’s own reporting has found no clear past case where the City Council paid severance to someone who resigned, which makes this proposal stand out even more. Across the country, many public-sector severance deals work like this one would: a lump-sum payment in exchange for a legal release that blocks future lawsuits. That setup can save money when there is a real legal risk. But critics argue it can also become a handy way for officials to quietly take care of one another with public money when there is a scandal.
Why This Fight Matters Beyond Oakland
For many Americans on both the right and the left, this story hits the same nerve: if you mess up at a normal job, you get fired with nothing, but if you are part of the government elite, you walk away with a check big enough to buy a house. Federal guidance on severance and many city policies say you only get severance when you are let go against your will, not when you choose to resign. Yet cases like Johnson’s keep popping up in cities across the country, in that gray zone between “resigned” and “pushed out.”
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. https://t.co/I7dbZiRVv0
— KQED (@KQED) July 18, 2026
Oakland Councilmember Houston pulled his proposal from an immediate vote after backlash, saying he would bring it back after the summer recess. That pause shows city leaders feel the heat from angry residents, but it does not close the door on the payout. For people watching from anywhere in America, this fight is about more than one official and one city. It is about whether government still serves the public, or mainly protects its own.
Sources:
nypost.com, oaklandside.org, sfist.com, youtube.com, kqed.org, mercurynews.com, opm.gov, sec.gov, icma.org
