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Woodside’s town manager is officially out of a job, and, according to town officials, his conduct is under review by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office for potential extortion.
The Woodside Town Council fired Jason Ledbetter, effective immediately, at a closed session meeting on Thursday evening, April 30.
Ledbetter declined to attend the meeting to address the charges, according to the town’s May 1 press release, and he did not respond to The Almanac’s request for comment.
The Almanac reached out to the DA’s office for confirmation of the extortion investigation but did not get an immediate reply.
The firing comes a week after the town released the final report on its investigation into Ledbetter’s 14-page whistleblower report accusing Town Council members of discrimination and housing element malfeasance. Out of 11 allegations the town’s investigator looked into, only one could be substantiated by investigators: Mayor Pro Tempore Paul Goeld likely revealed confidential information from closed session discussions to Ledbetter about his hiring process.
Ledbetter’s other allegations included accusing Goeld and Mayor Brian Dombkowski of pressuring him to delay housing projects to improve their reelection prospects and of making racist and sexist comments. Ledbetter also claimed Dombkowski pressured him to “bury” a proposal to reduce speed limits near Woodside Elementary School and accused Councilmember Jenn Wall of sexual discrimination and bullying because she had preferred a female town manager candidate to Ledbetter.
The town’s investigator, David Stallard of Stallard Panebianco P.C., a workplace investigation firm, said those claims lacked credibility and could not be corroborated.
Woodside’s statement cited Ledbetter’s “threats and demands surrounding his purported whistleblower report” as cause for his firing. After sharing his report privately with the town attorney and councilmembers in February, Ledbetter asked for a settlement that included a year’s salary, continued medical benefits and his accrued paid vacation time. If there was no settlement, he would release his report publicly. The Town Council declined and placed Ledbetter on paid administrative leave.
Ledbetter was appointed town manager in April 2025, to replace longtime Town Manager Kevin Bryant, who was retiring the following month. Ledbetter had an annual base salary of $300,000 and received a $15,000 raise after a satisfactory six-month performance review in January.
In Ledbetter’s contract, it states that if an employee voluntarily resigns, he will not receive any severance pay. If terminated or forced to resign, he would be entitled to six month’s severance and an amount equivalent to six months of benefits.
Since Ledbetter was “terminated for cause,” he is not eligible for severance. The town’s list of causes includes, “willful or unlawful retaliation against any other town official or employee or member of the public.”
“The Town Council determined that Mr. Ledbetter’s conduct presented cause for dismissal under his employment agreement,” wrote the town in its announcement.
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office investigation into Ledbetter’s claims of Brown Act violations is ongoing.
Assistant Town Manager Melissa Cardinale will continue to serve as Acting Town Manager.
This story will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.
Once again, the Woodside Town Council appears to have slipped out of accountability. One has to wonder how many more times they will evade the truth. They govern as though the town belongs to them alone—too often disregarding the voices of the very people they were elected to serve, all while protecting their own sense of power and control.
The so-called “independent” attorney brought in to conduct the investigation has previously been retained by the town, raising legitimate concerns about impartiality and whether the outcome was ever truly in doubt. When the same familiar channels are used, it is difficult for the public to trust that justice has been pursued fairly.
I am deeply disappointed in the District Attorney’s Office for what seems to have been an insufficient examination of Mr. Ledbetter’s allegations. Serious concerns deserve serious scrutiny, and the community deserves confidence that those concerns were evaluated thoroughly and without bias.
Perhaps one day the Town Council will be held fully accountable. If that day comes, I hope to witness it—not out of spite, but because accountability is essential to public trust, and no governing body should be above it.
I wish Mr. Lebetter well, I hope he finds a home where truth does matter.