Portland city official resigns weeks after assault charge was dropped
Portland City Hall in March 2022. (Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)
Gregory Watson, Portland’s director of housing and economic development who has been on administrative leave since the spring, has resigned.
Watson, 54, was placed on paid leave in March, the same day he was issued a summons for assault stemming from a Feb. 20 incident on Congress Street.
The charge was dropped last month, with Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris stating that the case against Watson was not provable.
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City officials confirmed Watson’s resignation Thursday and said that Patricia Finnigan, an experienced city manager and municipal consultant, has been hired in an interim role and will begin Aug. 25.
“We are very pleased to have her step into this role while we conduct the search for a permanent HED director,” said city spokesperson Jessica Grondin.
The city and Watson formalized a separation agreement on Aug. 12, which states that the parties “wish to part ways amicably.”
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Police have not released additional information about the alleged incident, and no filings have been available at the Cumberland County Courthouse.
The Portland Press Herald filed a public records request for police reports referring to Watson, but the city denied the request, citing privacy for municipal employees.
Former Ogunquit Town Manager Patricia Finnigan, pictured in 2019.
Watson could not be reached for comment Thursday.
According to Grondin, Watson had been paid $63,068 while on leave. The separation agreement states that Watson will also be paid one-fifth of his accrued, unused sick leave.
Watson was appointed to the director position in 2023. Before coming to Portland, he worked as an urban planner in Massachusetts for 25 years, where he managed affordable housing development and finance programs.
Grondin said the city will soon begin searching for Watson’s replacement. Prior to Finnigan being hired as interim director, Assistant City Manager Dena Libner had been serving in an acting capacity.
Finnigan has held city and town manager roles in Auburn, Ogunquit and Camden, and previously served as an assistant city manager in Portland.
Staff Writer Morgan Womack also contributed to this report.
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Andrew Rice is a staff writer at the Press Herald covering the city of Portland. He's been working in journalism since 2012, joining the Sun Journal in 2017, then the Press Herald in 2026. He lives in. More by Andrew Rice
