AUGUSTA – The Green Independent Party has submitted the name of a Seal Cove lawyer for appointment to the state Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.

Philip Worden, 56, confirmed Wednesday he would assume the post if accepted by Republican and Democratic legislative leaders who are required to present the nominee to the governor for final consideration.

“Ethics are probably the most important part of government because it goes right to the core of the integrity of the entire process,” Worden said. “This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Regardless of a desire to win elections, I don’t think any party has a greater stake than another when it comes to preserving the integrity of the election process.”

If agreed upon by legislative leaders and Gov. John E. Baldacci, Worden would fill the tie-breaking fifth slot on the ethics panel, which has operated as a four-member board since April 2005. The board resolves ethics complaints and investigates state campaign finance violations.

Under Maine law, no more than two members of the five-member board can represent the same party. Two Democrats and two Republicans already serve on the board, leaving the fifth vacancy available for an independent or unenrolled candidate, or a member of the Green Independent Party. Over the commission’s history, the fifth seat has always been held by an independent – most recently by Terrence MacTaggart, chancellor of the University of Maine System, who finished his term last year.

Republican and Democratic legislative leaders have repeatedly commented on the difficulties of trying to find a person to serve as the fifth member of the panel. Maine law states members of the commission must be “persons of recognized judgment, probity and objectivity.”

State law further demands that a candidate not be appointed to the commission if he or she is a member of the Legislature or a member of the previous Legislature. Furthermore, the nominee cannot have been a candidate for an elective county, state or federal office within two years of the appointment. Finally, the nominee cannot have been an officer of a political committee, party committee or political action committee or held a position in a political party or campaign within the past two years.

Rep. John Eder, the Legislature’s sole Green party member from Portland, said that while there may be “a couple of other” Greens whose names might be offered for consideration, Worden is the party’s “leading candidate” for the ethics panel. Citing Worden’s extensive experience as a lawyer, Eder said he was highly recommended by many Maine Greens, including Jane Meisenbach, director of the board for the Maine Green Independent Party.

“Of all of those mentioned to me, I think he has the most impressive background,” Eder said.

Republican and Democratic leaders in the Legislature have said they would consider a qualified Green party member to fill the fifth slot on the commission and Eder said Maine Greens would have “to wait and see” how the process plays out.

Maine House Speaker John Richardson, D-Brunswick, had lunch with Eder this week and said he would discuss the Green nominee with other legislative leaders to see if Worden would be included in the list of up to three final nominees to submit to the governor.

“But time is running short and we would like to finish this sooner rather than later – certainly before the general election in November,” Richardson said.