Washington County Commissioner Courtney Hammond says he had no idea his two fellow commissioners were planning to fire the county manager when he walked into a commission meeting earlier this month.
Renee Gray, who spent much of last year steering the county through an unprecedented financial crisis, was fired with a one-sentence notice that gave no cause for her termination.
She’s now suing the county and the two commissioners who fired her, Commissioner David Burns and Commissioner Billy Howard, alleging defamation, sex discrimination and violation of whistleblower protections in a case moved to federal court that also contains explosive allegations that she is cooperating with a state investigation into financial misdeeds.
Hammond, who is not named as a defendant and is a Republican like the other commissioners, has publicly backed Gray.
“She has always made sure everything is done out in the open,” he said. “She never tries to hide anything.”
County voters rejected an $11 million bond in November that aimed to dig out from years of financial mismanagement, leaving commissioners to engineer a series of loans that has Washington County on firmer footing but still facing long-term consequences.
Gray alleges in her complaint that Burns and Howard fired her in retaliation for cooperating with an investigation into county finances by Attorney General Aaron Frey’s office since spring 2025.
Her lawyer wrote that she was aware of “utter mismanagement” and “civil and/or criminal violations” by Burns and Howard, including the transfer of funds out of the county’s Unorganized Territory account last year to cover a cash shortfall.
Burns referred a reporter to his lawyer, who declined to comment.
“Wait until you get both sides of the story someday,” Howard said when reached by phone Friday.
At a commission meeting the week after Gray’s firing, Burns said the public would eventually hear “the other side.” Lawyers for Burns, Howard and the county are due to respond to Gray’s claims by Aug. 4.
Gray’s complaint also alleges that the termination violated state law, which bars commissioners from dismissing most county officials without cause, and that it was engineered by a lawyer the county never formally hired.
Gray’s lawyer wrote that the attorney who advised Howard and Burns before her firing was never retained by the county through a public vote, and that the two commissioners “conspired” with him to “thwart legal requirements.”
Hammond said the commission had hired that attorney for an unrelated matter and never agreed to expand his role. He declined to comment on Gray’s retaliation claim.
Gray also accused Howard and Burns of sexually discriminatory language, saying Howard called her a “girl” in a derogatory manner and Burns once told her to “not put away her waitressing skills.”
Her personnel file contains no negative performance evaluations or other documented cause for termination, according to the complaint. After she sued, a court issued a restraining order blocking her firing. She remains on paid leave.
Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural government as part of a partnership between the Bangor Daily News and The Maine Monitor, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers.