Gov. Paul LePage on March 29 nominated six-term District Attorney for Prosecutorial District 6, Geoffrey Rushlau of Dresden, to a judgeship on the Maine District Court. Rushlau’s term would have ended at the end of 2018. The task of replacing him begins next week.

The process starts with the district attorney’s party coming up with names. Because Rushlau is a Republican, the four Republican county committees of District 6 — Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo — will meet together on Monday, April 10, at 7 p.m. in the Wiscasset Elementary School cafeteria on Federal Street, to submit candidates’ names to the governor. Only voting members of the committees can vote, but the public is welcome to attend. After receiving the candidates’ names, the governor will choose one and send his choice to the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, which will schedule a hearing. Finally, the full Senate will vote on the nominee.

According to county committee members contacted, the odds-on favorite for Rushlau’s replacement is Jonathan Liberman of West Bath. Liberman has served for the last two years as Deputy D.A. under Rushlau. Prior to his appointment in 2016, he was Assistant D.A. in Sagadahoc County, and also served in Lincoln and Knox.

However, LePage can choose any of the names submitted, and may call for the committees to submit more than one name. When the Kennebec  County Democratic Party submitted only one name to replace that county’s sheriff in 2016, LePage responded by choosing someone else, Ken Mason, then-chief deputy of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Mason withdrew when a court battle looked likely; he ran as an independent last fall and won.