Shortly after tendering his resignation as city manager for the city of Greeley, Raymond Lee was named to a shortlist to be the “first long-term” city administrator for Portland, Oregon.
According to a news release from Portland, Lee and two others were listed as finalists for the position of administrator, a new role in the city’s new form of government. The other two are Maurice Henderson II, vice-president of HNTB Corp. and former chief of staff to Portland mayor Ted Wheeler; and Valerie Washington, assistant city administrator of Fort Worth, Texas.
Contacted Tuesday night, Lee said a recruiter called him to seek his application for the job, and he’s excited at the potential to bring “best management practices” to one of America’s iconic cities.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for anyone who gets this job to step in and lead one of America’s iconic cities in the new form of government,” Lee said. “I didn’t initially start looking, a recruiter reached out to me as it relates to that role, and he said he thought I’d be a good fit, let’s have a conversation. At that time, I wasn’t looking, it just happened. But then I knew it was time … for me to start looking for an opportunity that would help me expand my knowledge and skills.
“We have a great foundation and team here in Greeley to carry on the work we have done as a leadership team and City Council,” Lee said. “I felt it would be good to explore these opportunities that are in bigger cities.”
Greeley Mayor Dale Hall said Portland would benefit from Lee’s experience.
“I think Raymond had some great ideas for the future and I think it would be to Portland’s benefit to have someone who can think out into the future, not just immediately in front of them,” Hall said. “We know as a council, we knew there was a point in time he’d be looking forward and moving to a larger community, and it was not unexpected.”
Lee and the other two candidates will be in Portland this week to interview with the city’s mayor, Keith Wilson, as well as city councilors, and a variety of city and labor union leaders, the release stated.
The new city administrator is expected to be on board by January 2026, replacing their retiring administrator, who agreed to stay in the role through the first year of Portland’s new form of government, which is like Greeley’s mayor-council form with a city administrator. That new form began in January 2025.
The Portland city administrator will report to the mayor and will be responsible for the day-to-day administration of city government, managing an $8.6 billion budget and overseeing more than 6,500 employees who deliver day-to-day services across four major areas: public safety, public works, community and economic development, and city operations, the release stated.
Lee submitted his resignation to the Greeley City Council earlier this month; his last day is set for this Friday, but officially it will be Dec. 2.
As part of a separation agreement, Lee will receive, before tax deductions, compensation for accrued salary for the most recent pay period, accrued but unused paid time off and a separation payment of $106,158.23, which is equivalent to four months of his salary.
Lee was named Greeley’s city manager In January 2022 after serving five months as deputy city manager. He came to Greeley after serving as the director of public works for the city of Amarillo, Texas.
In his time in Greeley, he has created several new leadership positions within the city, bolstering the City Manager’s Office with eight total managers.
He has also championed solutions for homelessness and affordable housing, the downtown civic campus and the west Greeley Cascadia project, which is under fire by residents who want a public vote on the project.
“I’m really happy about the culture changes we made in the city as an organization, establishing new values, creating a strategic plan that really laid out the direction we’re heading,” Lee said. “I’m proud we were able to create a housing and homeless solutions department to address two of the biggest issues in the nation.”
Spending increased in his term as manager including an expected $130 million over five years for the Merge project, which is expected to create new interchanges at U.S. 34 on 35th and 47th avenues. The project is expected to be funded through grants and a federal loan and get under way in 2026.
In his tenure, the city’s budget grew 10% from $490.8 million in 2022 to $541.7 million in 2025. The budget is set for $565.7 million for 2026. For 2026, the city had a $21 million funding gap, which is being bridged by carryover funds from 2024, and a hiring freeze.
In Portland, however, he’s looking at an $8.6 billion budget. “It’s a huge budget,” Lee said. “They have huge projects, huge demands, huge calls for service, and when you step into those large organizations, it’s not just a number. The scope, priorities, everything comes with a price tag and those are not cheap. Bringing in best management practices and mechanisms, to be effective and economical — that will be the key thing any manager would have to focus on.”
Lee said this is a natural next step for his career, while acknowledging how he and his family made Greeley home for the last four years.
“Greeley was a great training ground for any role, for the amount of growth, the amount of change and management we’ve gone through as an organization,” Lee said. “We have a great council that has really adopted and fostered growth within our community. It really sets it up for anyone coming to the Greeley role.”
This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2025 BizWest Media LLC.
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