Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee announced over the weekend that City Administrator Jestin Johnson had resigned.
Johnson’s resignation came after “inappropriate workplace communications” were discovered.
According to reporting from the Oaklandside, Johnson and his co-worker Harold Duffey exchanged crass text messages about female co-workers. Duffey left his job in Oakland in 2025 to go work in Brentwood.
Assistant City Administrator Elizabeth "Betsy" Lake will take Johnson’s position on an interim basis.
Lake has worked with the city of Oakland for the past 8 years and has 30 years of experience practicing law, according to Lee's office.
Johnson was appointed by then-Mayor Sheng Thao in 2023, his salary was $340,000 a year. Mayor Lee said his resignation would not interrupt city operations.
