Baldacci commissioner resigns; agriculture head to be named

AUGUSTA – Officially in the job for less than a year, state Department of Professional and Financial Regulation Commissioner Christine A. Bruenn has submitted her resignation to the Baldacci administration to accept a position at a Portland law firm.

Bruenn confirmed Monday that her last day on the job will be March 17, when she will assume a partnership in the Bingham and McCutchin securities firm in Portland.

A Jefferson resident with an extensive securities background, Bruenn said it was unusual to find a Maine-based firm where she could pursue her field of expertise.

After serving as acting commissioner since July 2004, Bruenn formally assumed oversight for insurance, banking, securities, consumer credit regulation and 41 state professional licensing boards and registration programs when she was sworn in as commissioner last May.

According to her online resume, Bruenn had worked in the department’s securities office since 1987, where she began as an investigator before becoming head of the enforcement division, then becoming Maine’s Securities Administrator in 1997.

The office protects consumers who purchase securities or investment advice and helps small businesses raise money and comply with securities laws.

Crystal Canney, spokeswoman for Gov. John E. Baldacci, confirmed Monday that a search for an acting commissioner for the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation was under way. She acknowledged the administration had received Bruenn’s resignation without elaboration.

While Bruenn’s resignation presented the governor with a new appointment opportunity, an older vacancy is about to be filled. Canney said Monday the governor’s appointee to head the state Department of Agriculture would likely be announced today.

Those close to the administration expect Baldacci will name acting Commissioner Edwin “Ned” Porter to the position vacated by former Commissioner Robert Spear. Porter, who was deputy commissioner under Spear, was a Bangor Daily News reporter before being hired by Baldacci when the Bangor Democrat was elected to Congress in 1994.

Considered to be Spear’s heir-apparent, Porter has come under fire for lacking what farmers characterize as sufficient hands-on agricultural experience. Although he has no personal background in farming, Porter said his bureaucratic experience should be sufficient to lead the department.

“Between my time working on agriculture issues in Washington and serving as deputy commissioner, I have developed and had a hand in developing policy, legislation and programs as varied as federal crop insurance reforms and state agricultural water policy,” Porter said in an earlier interview. “I have also worked on two farm bills – once in D.C. and the second time from Augusta.”

Meanwhile, the fate of a former member of Baldacci’s cabinet remained unclear Monday. Canney said there were no current plans to place former state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Dawn Gallagher at the state Department of Health and Human Services or any other state agency.

Gallagher resigned at the end of last year amid growing controversy over her dealings with industries regulated by her department. In response to complaints, the Maine Attorney General’s Office ruled that DEP staffers violated Maine’s public records laws last year by failing to keep documentation of an agreement with Rumford Paper Co. and International Paper.

At the time that he accepted Gallagher’s resignation, Baldacci said his commissioner could have handled that situation better. He said in January that he planned to place Gallagher elsewhere in his administration but did not specify where.