Ken Mason, chief deputy for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, has withdrawn his name from consideration for the position of Sheriff of Kennebec County. He had been appointed to that role by Gov. Paul LePage on Feb. 18 to succeed Sheriff Randy Liberty, who had resigned in order to accept the position of Warden at the Maine State Prison in Warren.

Because of the way the law governing mid-term appointments is worded, the political party to which Liberty belonged was tasked with providing the governor with names of candidates from which to choose his successor. The Democratic Committee in Kennebec County submitted only one name, that of the chief deputy and current Interim Sheriff, Ryan Reardon. Mason, who is also a Democrat, had asked to be considered for the position, but the Democratic Committee did not submit his name, and last week, upheld its decision to send only Reardon’s name to the governor.

LePage, however, believing that the wording of the statute required the committee to submit more than one name, chose to appoint Mason.

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, whose job it is to certify appointments, took legal advice about the appointment and subsequently said that the governor was required to accept the candidate the Democratic Committee had selected.

This left Mason and Reardon in a difficult position, with a possible court challenge to what was essentially a nine-month appointment.

“I have withdrawn my name for several reasons that have nothing to do with my qualifications or ability to serve,” Mason writes in a press release Wednesday afternoon. “Moving forward with my appointment forces time and attention from both the Governor and Secretary of State Matt Dunlap at a time when our State faces so many more pressing issues, and potentially forces a legal showdown between two men I greatly respect. In addition, it has become clear that the Kennebec County Democrats will not support me even being considered as a second candidate for their recommendation, despite my 29+ years of experience and strong support from many colleagues within law enforcement. It is a clear case of politics over public safety.”

“Kennebec County Democratic Committee members ought to be ashamed and embarrassed by their political trickery and failure to do their job for the Maine people. Their neglect of the law places a well-qualified Democrat candidate in a very difficult situation,” said LePage in a press release sent a short time later.

Mason also said that he intended to seek the position of Kennebec County Sheriff as an independent in November. “I look forward to meeting with my fellow citizens of Kennebec County to discuss important matters and concerns they may have throughout my campaign,” he wrote.

Mason is currently obtaining signatures for his November run. If he were to have run as a Democrat to challenge Reardon in the primary, he would have had to obtain all the signatures necessary by March 15.

“I respect Major Mason’s decision and wish him best throughout the electoral process as an Independent,” LePage said.