This story originally appeared in the Thursday, May 7, Daily Post print edition. If you want to get important local news stories first, pick up the Post in the mornings.
BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office will not bring charges against former Woodside Town Manager Jason Ledbetter after he demanded $400,000 to keep secret a report with allegations against council members, the DA said yesterday.
Ledbetter, in an interview with the DA’s office, said he had no intention of extorting the town for money and believed he was negotiating his severance, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. This led to the DA’s office deciding not to charge Ledbetter with any crime, Wagstaffe said.
The town strongly disagrees with the DA’s decision not to charge Ledbetter with any crime, said attorney Richard Bolanos, who is representing the town.
Ledbetter alleged in a letter he sent to council on Feb. 17 that he was manipulated to stop subsidized housing projects and that two council members made disparaging, racist and sexist remarks about others on council.
The town hired attorney David Stallard to look into Ledbetter’s allegations and he was only able to substantiate one – that Vice Mayor Paul Goeld violated what’s known as the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, by telling Ledbetter about his hiring process.
Wagstaffe said his office will not prosecute Goeld’s Brown Act violation because there is no crime. He will leave it to the town to determine how they want to address the violation, Wagstaffe said.
The town is currently determining if any corrective action is warranted, Bolanos said.
Goeld admitted during his interview with Stallard to telling Ledbetter that Councilwoman Jenn Wall complained about his hiring because he was a white male from a conservative area over dinner, Stallard wrote. Ledbetter was previously the city manager of Yreka, in Siskiyou County.
Council fired Ledbetter on May 1 for threatening the town and violating his employment contract.
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