PRESS RELEASE - City of Port Townsend Hires Austin Watkins as City Attorney

Watkins will begin in his role starting January 5

November 14, 2025 PORT TOWNSEND – Austin Watkins has been selected as Port Townsend’s next City Attorney. Watkins is an attorney with experience in municipal, environmental, and land use matters and has a strong connection to the Port Townsend community. From 2018 to 2021, Watkins lived and practiced law in Port Townsend, serving Jefferson County as their Planning Manager and a Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. In these roles, he advised the County on land use, environmental public health, public safety, and general municipal matters.

Currently, Watkins serves as Senior Counsel (Land Use and Installations) at the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment) in the Pentagon, where he advises senior leadership on land use, real estate, and installation matters across Navy and Marine Corps installations worldwide. His other prior roles include Program Counsel for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Floodplain Management Division and Assistant City Attorney in the Land Use section at the Seattle City Attorney’s Office.

Watkins holds a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, an LL.M. (Masters of Law) in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law from Lewis and Clark Law School, and a B.A. and M.P.A. from the University of Central Florida. He is a member of the Washington, Virginia, and District of Columbia bars.

“I look forward to serving the Port Townsend City Council, staff, and residents,” said Watkins. “When I saw the City was hiring, I jumped at the opportunity to apply based on my past experience in Jefferson County, the initiatives the City is undertaking, and wanting to return with my family to this beautiful part of the country.”

For the past 18 months, the City has been working with Seattle-based law firm Kenyon Disend on contract, with Alexandra Kenyon appointed as City Attorney. Prior to Kenyon, Heidi Greenwood was City Attorney from 2018 to early 2024. Watkins will manage a team of two full-time staff, including the City Clerk and Legal Assistant. His work will span everything from handling insurance to drafting resolutions and ordinances, from assessing land use plans and legals risks to reviewing or drafting contracts, and to being on-hand for every City Council meeting.

City Manager John Mauro noted: “The team and I are thrilled to find someone with Mr. Watkins’ impressive professional acumen, intelligence, and drive to join our organization in this critical leadership role. That he’s also creative, collaborative, and knows Port Townsend well
added to an immediate recognition that his hire would be a tremendous benefit for the City and our community.”

Mauro also said he was appreciative of Kenyon Disend’s services to the City and plans to continue to utilize them for additional legal support as needed. He stated, “Alexandra Kenyon has been phenomenal as our contract City Attorney and I’m grateful to her and the wider Kenyon Disend team for their work, and appreciative that we can continue to call on them for additional services as needed.”

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