King expected to kpropose Collins aide for utilities panel

AUGUSTA — Gov. Angus King appears to be turning to the staff of one of his rivals in the 1994 gubernatorial election for a nominee to the vacant post on Maine’s Public Utilities Commission.

Sources said Thursday that King is prepared to propose Stephen Diamond, a former securities administrator for the state who now works for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, to succeed Heather Hunt on the three-member utility regulatory panel.

King aides would say only that a formal announcement of the governor’s nomination would come Monday. Diamond said he could only acknowledge that he was a candidate.

But friends of Diamond confirmed he had been chosen. And following the initial Associated Press report of the governor’s plans, Collins issued a brief statement praising Diamond’s selection.

“The PUC appointment is a tremendous honor for Steve, and there is no one better suited for the position,” Collins said.

“Steve has been a close friend and trusted colleague of mine for many years, and he has provided me with invaluable advice over the course of two campaigns and throughout the 105th Congress. I shall miss his wise counsel, his outstanding intelligence and his clever wit,” Collins said.

King aides have conceded the governor’s first pick for the PUC opening was state economist Laurie LaChance, who turned down the offer.

The King administration is hoping to have a nominee to succeed Hunt in place for next month’s scheduled Senate confirmation session.

Diamond, who has been living in Washington, D.C., but maintains his permanent address in Gardiner, went to work for the Republican Collins on her Senate staff as legislative counsel in January 1997.

Only about two months ago, he was named Collins’ legislative director, taking on additional supervisory responsibilities.

A 1965 graduate of Stanford University who received a law degree from the University of Chicago in 1968, Diamond has worked for the Maine Attorney General’s Office and for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maine.

From August 1985 until January 1997, Diamond served as Maine’s securities administrator within the state Bureau of Banking.

Hunt, who was confirmed for a post on the PUC in September 1995, resigned last month to work for Southern Connecticut Gas Co. in Bridgeport, Conn., as group director of regulatory research and services.