AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage will appoint Ken Mason, chief deputy of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, as the new Kennebec County sheriff, defying the recommendation of Kennebec County Democrats and possibly setting off a legal battle.

The Republican governor has refused in recent months to appoint a new sheriff because the Kennebec County Democratic Party Committee recommended only one candidate, interim sheriff Ryan Reardon.

“Repeatedly, I have asked for at least two names as required by the law, but Democrats continue to play silly games and I have had enough,” LePage said in a statement Thursday. “I am selecting Major Kenneth Mason for this appointment. He has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement, and I have the utmost confidence he will continue to be an exemplary public servant.”

Mason, reached by phone following the announcement, called it an “unexpected opportunity.”

He will serve through the end of this year until a special election in November. The position became available when LePage appointed former sheriff Randall Liberty to be warden of the Maine State Prison last fall.

Reardon has already filed to run for the sheriff seat as a Democrat, and Mason said Thursday he also intends to run, but he doesn’t know if he’ll run with a party affiliation.

Rita Moran, chairwoman of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee, said in a statement that the committee voted last week to reaffirm its decision to send only Reardon’s name to the governor.

“Gov. LePage has made his decision,” Moran said. “We have secured legal counsel, and I will do as the committee wishes.”

Some Democrats had advocated also forwarding the name of Mason to satisfy the governor. Mason put his name forward in the nominating process last fall, but the Democratic committee opted not to submit it.

Reardon said in a statement Thursday that after the last five months, “it has been important that I continue to concentrate on the work that needs to be done at the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.”

“There are a lot of projects, programs and decisions that need to be made every day for the 130-plus employees and the 121,000-plus citizens of Kennebec County,” Reardon said. “I will continue to focus on that aspect. I look forward to the election in November where the citizens of Kennebec County will decide for themselves.”

Before Mason’s appointment was announced Thursday, Moran said it was her understanding that LePage’s selection of someone other than the committee’s recommendation may involve the county government and District Attorney Maeghan Maloney, who may need “to handle the legal aspects and initiate whatever action is necessary.”

The state statute that governs this process says the governor “shall choose from any recommendations submitted to the governor by the county committee of the political party from which the appointment is made.”

Attorney General Janet Mills, a Democrat, had recently notified the Democratic committee that she had been requested by LePage’s legal counsel to give specific advice on the issue.

“Before providing a detailed response,” Mills wrote, “I would like to know the Committee’s intentions. … While the intent of the statute is not entirely clear, the use of the words ‘choose’ and ‘recommendations’ seem to imply that if the Committee submits its recommendations, the names of more than one qualified individual should be submitted.”

Staff writer Jessica Lowell contributed to this report.