Greg Thompson fired from similar job in Atwater, sued by developers
By TOM LYDEN
Staff Writer
The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors is set next week to approve the hiring of Greg Thompson as the county’s new development services director.
He may be bringing some baggage along with him.
Thompson held a similar position as community development director with the city of Atwater when he was terminated a year ago, on March 21, 2025. Thompson was also the assistant city manager when he was fired.
The city of Atwater, Thompson and other city officials are being sued in federal and state court by two developers who separately claim Thompson orchestrated a conspiracy to sabotage their projects.
Fresno attorney Brian Cuttone, who is representing both plaintiffs, said the litigation is ongoing.
The two lawsuits against the city of Atwater, and Thompson’s termination, were originally reported last year by the Merced County Times.
Thompson has not responded to a call seeking comment.
The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors will vote to approve Thompson’s appointment on Tuesday, April 7, but his designated start date is actually the day before, Monday, April 6, suggesting approval is likely a foregone conclusion.
He will be paid $166,235. He will be considered an at-will employee.
County Administrative Officer Joe Lynch said he wasn’t concerned about the lawsuits stemming from Thompson’s time in Atwater.
“Part of government business is people get upset and they sue you. It’s not a jury. Lawsuits are fairly common in development,” Lynch said.
Lynch said Thompson passed a background check and received glowing references from government leaders in Merced who have worked with him directly.
“We feel confident, the board feels confident, he’ll do a great job,” Lynch added.
The county has declined to say how many people applied for the position or how many applicants were interviewed.
Those interviews were conducted in closed sessions.
The job was offered and accepted by another applicant last year, but for reasons that have not been publicly disclosed the individual removed himself from consideration.
The development services director position is a new one for Mariposa County, the outgrowth of an organizational study that sought to consolidate and streamline county services.
Thompson would oversee current and long-range planning, building inspections and code enforcement.
The circumstances of Thompson’s termination from the city of Atwater are unknown. Calls to Atwater City Manager Chris Hoem were not returned.
In addition to the two ongoing lawsuits, there may have been other considerations.
The city of Atwater was one of 15 municipalities recently called out by California Gov. Gavin Newsom for not having a housing element.
The housing element is a blueprint for housing availability and affordability and was supposed to be in place a year and a half ago.
As community development director for the city of Atwater, Thompson would have played a key role in overseeing the drafting of the housing element.
The supervisors may well wonder why Atwater is even further behind than Mariposa County, which had its housing element approved by the state last month.
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