AUGUSTA, Maine — Acting Maine Adjutant General Gerard Bolduc announced that he won’t seek the job permanently on Wednesday, just a day after Gov. Paul LePage nominated him.
It’s unclear why Bolduc, who has served in the state’s senior military role since March, pulled his name so soon.
The announcement came in a statement from LePage’s office on Wednesday afternoon, but it shed little light on the reason for Bolduc’s decision. Bolduc and LePage spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett didn’t respond to requests for comment.
He was quoted in the news release as telling the governor that he’s “grateful for your support for the Maine National Guard and of my leadership over the past several months,” while LePage thanked him for his “willingness to consider the nomination.”
The governor’s office said a new nominee will be named “in the coming months.”
Bolduc has been in the Air Force since 1982 and commander of the Maine Air National Guard and the assistant adjutant general before assuming the top job on an interim basis at a tumultuous time.
He took over for Brig. Gen. James Campbell, who was fired by LePage in March after the governor’s office accused him of mischaracterizing a plan to turn Maine’s 133rd Engineer Battalion into an infantry unit, a charge that Campbell denied.
Bolduc took command with a pledge to be transparent about the plan, and in June, he announced that Maine would keep its engineering units.