Woodside Town Council may appoint Pamela Antil as interim town manager, who was under scrutiny for an inappropriate text exchange at her previous job.
Council determined it would take several months to find a new manager, so it’s looking to appoint Antil to serve temporarily after firing its former Town Manager, Jason Ledbetter, for threatening the town.
Antil was the city manager of Encinitas, a city in San Diego, from 2020 to 2024. During that time she was sued by a Michigan city official, James Freed, over a text message exchange, according to a publication in northern San Diego County known as the Coast News Group.
What led to the lawsuit
“He just looks like a d****ebag,” International City/County Management Association board member William Fraser said to Antil during a censure appeal hearing tied to comments Freed made about Covid-19 policies. The association oversees city and county managers worldwide, according to its website.
“He is,” Antil responded.
The lawsuit was dropped after an agreement between Freed and the association, according to the Port Huron, Mich., Times Herald, which was following the story since Freed had worked in that community.
Worked in Palo Alto
Antil previously served as assistant city manager for Palo Alto from 2010 to 2014, and for San Jose from 2014 to 2015, according to her resume. After working at Encinitas, she served as an interim assistant manager for San Bruno in 2025.
She is now a consultant for Sunnyvale and an interim executive for Chula Vista, according to her resume.
If she gets the job on Tuesday, Antil will start on July 1 and work for 12 months or until a new town manager is appointed, according to Town Attorney Jean Savaree’s report. Antil’s annual salary will be $335,000.
Council fired Ledbetter after he demanded $400,000 to keep secret a report he wrote making allegations against council members.
No charges
The San Mateo County District Attorney did not bring charges against Ledbetter because the DA believes he had no intention of extorting the town for money and thought he was negotiating his severance.
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. Council fired Ledbetter on May 1 for threatening the town and violating his contract.
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