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Eight months after the scathing whistleblower report by former Woodside Town Manager Jason Ledbetter went public, calls continue for further investigation into his long list of allegations against town officials. But threatened litigation by Ledbetter, who filed a $2 million claim alleging a hostile work environment and gender discrimination, is keeping town officials quiet.
In May, Ledbetter received a “right to sue” notice from the state’s Civil Rights Department after filing a discrimination complaint against the town of Woodside. Ledbetter and the town have a mediation sessoin scheduled for November, according to Interim Town Manager Pam Antil.
“The town of Woodside and former Town Manager Jason Ledbetter have agreed to participate in private mediation to address his claims,” said Antil in a written statement. “Mediation is designed to allow the parties to discuss their respective legal positions in confidence before an experienced mediator, to hopefully resolve their dispute short of litigation.”
In the complaint, Ledbetter alleges that Councilmember Jenn Wall harassed and discriminated against him because of his gender and that he experienced retaliation after releasing his whistleblower report in February.
Ledbetter allegedly raised concerns of gender discrimination to town staff prior to drafting his 14-page report but “no investigation was conducted and no steps (were) taken to ensure Ms. Wall ceased her discriminatory conduct.”
His complaint adds that the “town falsely accused Ledbetter of engaging in criminal conduct and subsequently terminated his employment,” because of his whistleblower report. After sending the report to the town attorney, Ledbetter asked for a severance package worth $400,000 or he would release the report to the public. The Town Council declined and he sent his report to The Almanac and a number of other Woodside residents.
According to the town, Ledbetter’s claim also alleges defamation, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, loss of wages and benefits and reputational harm.
Ledbetter’s whistleblower report
In the whistleblower report, Ledbetter accused Mayor Brian Dombkowski and Mayor Pro-Tem Paul Goeld of delaying housing projects, violating the state’s open meeting law, and gender and racial discrimination toward councilmembers Wall and Hassan Aburish.
In April, the town’s third-party investigation by Stallard Panebianco P.C. only sustained one out 11 of Ledbetter’s allegations: Goeld admitted to sharing details of closed session discussions about Ledbetter’s hiring process with him. Since it’s not a criminal violation, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute.
At a July Town Council meeting, Goeld publicly apologized for disclosing private discussions with Ledbetter, who was hired in April 2025. During that same meeting, Goeld recused himself when council members came under fire for not reopening the investigation and holding Goeld accountable.
Wall moved to hold a hearing to consider a censure or reprimand against Goeld that failed in a tie vote, with Dombkowski and Council member Dick Brown opposed and Goeld recused.
Tension between council and community
Last month, Planning Commissioner Matt Garr pressured the council to hold members accountable for their alleged actions.
In public comment at the Sept. 8 Town Council meeting, Garr accused Dombkowski and Circulation Committee member Dan Druker of colluding to keep a plan to lower the speed limit near Woodside Elementary School to 15 mph in a series of messages sent from their personal accounts.
In an interview with The Almanac, Druker said that his emails with the mayor were not an attempt to block the 15 mph speed limit, which had been under discussion for two years over concerns for children’s safety who walk to school along Woodside Road, which has no sidewalks. Instead, Druker said he sought to stop the committee’s “suboptimal” draft of the 15 mph resolution from being presented to the council. This draft would have enforced the lower speed limit 24 hours a day and extended beyond Woodside Elementary School’s boundaries.
In February, the Town Council approved the speed limit reduction when children are present and only within the school’s property lines on Woodside Road.
In a letter to the council, Garr demanded the town retain an independent investigator with full access to internal town communications on text messages and personal devices. He also asked for a corrective action hearing to be placed on the agenda and for clear communication policies to be set. Garr suggested that the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury review the town’s governance and open-meeting practices.
Antil responded to Garr’s public comment by acknowledging the public’s frustrations and pointed out that councilmembers aren’t able to comment on the situation due to the threatened litigation.
“Individual council members and members of the public may continue to disagree with the outcome, but that disagreement does not invalidate the council’s decision or require the town to continue bringing the same matter for consideration,” Antil said.
When Wall began to ask questions about how the town could proceed in fulfilling Garr’s requests, she was shut down by Antil, who called for a recess. Wall was advised not to discuss anything “remotely related” to the investigation. Afterwards, Wall was able to finish asking her questions but received very short responses from Antil.
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