AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage announced Wednesday that he has appointed Ryan Reardon as the Kennebec County sheriff, reversing his earlier objections and ending a months-long standoff with county Democrats.

The move comes nearly five months after Reardon’s name was first submitted as the nominee of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee and nearly a month after LePage appointed someone else to the job, against the committee’s wishes.

In his appointment letter, LePage said, “I am confident you will make a valuable contribution to the state in that position and I thank you for your willingness to serve.”

Reardon said Wednesday he’s pleased with the governor’s decision.

“I look forward to working with the governor in his efforts to stem the tide of opiates in this state,” Reardon said in a statement. “Obviously, I am pleased with his decision and grateful for this to be behind all of us. I am looking forward to the stability this appointment gives my employees and eases any of their immediate concerns. I realize that this appointment is temporary and I am looking forward to the election in November. Until that time, it is important this agency operates as it always has, doing the work for the citizens of Kennebec County.”

Reardon has been interim Kennebec County sheriff since his predecessor, Randall Liberty, was appointed by LePage in September to serve as warden of the Maine State Prison in Warren.

Because Liberty’s term runs through 2018, this appointment is for the balance of this year only. The position will be filled for the rest of Liberty’s term by a special election in November. Ken Mason, chief deputy in the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, whom LePage attempted to appoint to the post but who withdrew his name, has said he intends to run for Kennebec County sheriff in November as an independent.

LePage’s appointment of Reardon apparently suspends for now the long-running battle between LePage and the county committee that dates back before Reardon’s nomination in October.

LePage declined to make an appointment for district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties in 2012, when he did not agree with the committee’s choice.

The dispute between LePage and the county Democrats revolves around their interpretations of the state law that governs such appointments.

The Maine Constitution contains a provision for a governor to act to remove a sheriff from office and appoint a replacement in the event that the officeholder fails in “faithfully or efficiently performing any duty imposed on the sheriff by law,” and only after a complaint, due notice and a hearing. It also states: “All vacancies in the office of sheriff, other than those caused by removal in the manner aforesaid shall be filled in the same manner as is provided in the case of judges and registers of probate.”

That process, outlined in statute, states the governor shall choose from any recommendations submitted by the county committee of the political party from which the appointment is to be made.

While Kennebec County officials and the secretary of state’s office are focusing on the governor’s obligation to choose a name only from the list the county committee provides, LePage has focused on the words “choose” and “recommendations,” which indicates more than one recommendation.

On Feb. 18, LePage announced his appointment of Mason as sheriff. Mason had put his name forward to the county Democratic committee in the nomination process in October 2015, but the committee opted not to forward his name then or in January, when it met to consider whether it would comply with the governor’s request for a second name.

Kennebec County government officials said the appointment of Mason was illegal because the governor’s choice didn’t come from the party committee as the law requires. Less than a week after his appointment was announced, Mason withdrew his name from the post.

In an apparent turnaround, the county Democrats met earlier this month to consider other names and opted to add the nomination of William Johnson, who is serving as interim chief deputy in the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.

In his letter announcing Reardon’s appointment, LePage also took the opportunity to continue to needle the county Democratic committee.

“Fortunately, after four months of delay,” he wrote, “the committee finally did the responsible, and legal, thing and provided me more than one recommendation. Please understand that my issue was never with you or your fitness to serve in this capacity. Rather, my problem stemmed from the political games of the committee and its willingness to disregard the Maine Constitution and our statutes, even over the advice of Attorney General (Janet) Mills. I apologize that their political gamesmanship placed you in this difficult position, but I wish you luck in this role.”

In response to the announcement of the appointment, Kennebec County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Rita Moran said, “I am glad the governor chose wisely and our dispute is finally ended. No one gains from ill-will, least of all the people of Kennebec County.”

Jessica Lowell — 621-5632

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Twitter: @JLowellKJ

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