Kennebec County Democrats voted Wednesday to send a second name for Gov. Paul LePage to consider for the vacant Kennebec County sheriff’s post.
In a special meeting Wednesday, the county committee identified William Johnson as its candidate to fill the vacancy until the end of the year. Former Sheriff Randall Liberty was appointed by LePage to be warden of the Maine State Prison in Warren.
Johnson is the interim chief deputy in the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, under interim Kennebec County Sheriff Ryan Reardon, who was the county committee’s sole nominee for the vacancy until Wednesday.
The county Democratic Committee sent Reardon’s name to the governor for consideration last October. By law, a special election must be held in November so county voters can choose who will fill out the remaining two years of Liberty’s term, which runs through 2018.
LePage ignored the county committee’s recommendation and last month chose his own candidate. Although Ken Mason, chief deputy in the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, had submitted his name in October, the committee opted not to do so.
Days after LePage’s announcement, Mason withdrew his name, but said he would run in November as an independent.
The county Democratic committee and the Republican governor have sparred over the interpretation of the state law that governs such appointments. The committee has contended the law does not say how many nominees it has to send to the governor; LePage has insisted there has to be more than one.
Johnson’s nomination is expected to be delivered to the governor’s office on Thursday.
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