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On March 10, the Woodside Town Council held its first public meeting since the release of Town Manager Jason Ledbetter’s whistleblower report in February. The shocking allegations in Ledbetter’s 14-page report singled out three of Woodside’s five council members and detailed incidents ranging from racist and sexist slurs to a pressure campaign to stall unpopular housing projects and improve the reelection chances of Mayor Brian Dombkowski and Vice Mayor Paul Goeld.
A number of town residents say they want to see a truly independent and transparent investigation to get to the truth.
At the council meeting, several people publicly called for Dombkowski, Goeld and Town Attorney Jean Savaree to recuse themselves from a thorough review of Ledbetter’s allegations. Some expressed feelings of confusion, disappointment and declining trust in the town.
The meeting opened up with a report from the town’s external counsel, Rick Bolanos from San Francisco-based law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. Due to Savaree’s involvement in Ledbetter’s report, Woodside enlisted the services of a third-party attorney. The report alleges that Savaree dismissed Ledbetter’s complaints of perceived bias and harassment he allegedly experienced from Council member Jenn Wall.
Bolanos provided an overview of the events leading up to the release of Ledbetter’s report on Feb. 19, including that the council gave Ledbetter a $15,000 raise following his performance review in January and what a town press release characterized as his “demand for payment of approximately $400,000 in a lump sum” on Feb. 17.
“He indicated that if the council did not authorise this payment, he would release a whistleblower report, grind all town business to a halt and make every public meeting about the alleged claims in the report,” said Bolanos.
He said that the council rejected Ledbetter’s demands and although his employment agreement did not provide severance if he resigned, the council offered to work with him to reach an “amicable settlement.”
Ledbetter told this news organization in February that he asked the town to provide a separation package that included his salary and benefits for a year, or until he gets a new job, as well as payment for his accrued vacation time. He said he feared that what he called Woodside’s corrupt and hostile work environment would leave a “stain” on his resume.
The Town Council has referred Ledbetter’s complaint to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office to conduct an independent investigation. Allegations of gender discrimination and harassment however are being reviewed through the town’s independent investigation.
“The only thing we look at is if there is something that is a potential criminal violation of the law. So we’ll look to see if there were any allegations of Brown Act violations and investigate those,” said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. “But for us, there’s a very narrow window. We only look at criminal violations, the rest of it belongs to Mr. Ledbetter and the town of Woodside.”
Wagstaffe said that it’s common for allegations to come out of disagreements between public officials and staff but he doesn’t recall a case that matches the level of passion exuded by Ledbetter’s report.
It’s clear that “there is a lot of turmoil going on in Woodside,” Wagstaffe said.
He told this news organization that his office will be interviewing Ledbetter and members of the council and hopes that his team will be able to complete their work within a couple of months.
Woodside resident Steve Lubin that he was distressed to hear that the investigations are “nonpublic” and called for a true independent review without the influence of the council members involved when he spoke at the March 10 council meeting. He said that Ledbetter’s accusations are “not inconsistent” with his personal experience.
“Please acknowledge that many people in town do not trust the town government is conducted in an open manner. There is a perception that issues are determined out of the public eye. Jason’s letter reinforces this perception,” Lubin said.
Several other residents requested that the town agendize the investigation to open it to the public rather than being done behind closed doors.
“It’s my belief that the town should treat the Brown Act as a beacon for good governance and best practices for open meetings, and accordingly the town should open an investigation into the possible Brown Act violations,” said resident Martin Walker.
Savaree clarified to the community that an independent investigation is being conducted through the town’s insurance carrier and members of the town staff and Town Council are not involved beyond participating in interviews.
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