Eight-term Maryland Rep. Al Wynn announced Thursday that he plans to resign in June, leaving Gov. Martin O’Malley the option of leaving the seat vacant for the next seven months or holding a special election that could cost $2 million.
Wynn lost a mid-February Democratic primary race by about 22 percentage points to challenger Donna Edwards, who analysts say is expected to easily win the general election in November over Republican candidate Peter James.
In a statement, Wynn said he had accepted a position as a partner at Washington law firm Dickstein Shapiro LLP because it was “time to move into another phase of [his] life.”
“My leaving early will also allow our Democratic nominee Donna Edwards the opportunity to successfully navigate a special election and be sworn in this summer,” Wynn said. “This will not only give her seniority in the incoming Congressional class of ‘09, but more importantly, will allow her to get off to a fast start in serving the citizens of our community.”
In a statement, Edwards praised Wynn’s decision, saying he was “looking out for the interests of his constituents.”
Republican candidate James, however, criticized Wynn’s decision to leave early as unfair to Maryland taxpayers, saying the cost of a possible special election would add pain to residents already reeling from last fall’s increase in the state sales tax and budget difficulties at the state and local level.
State election officials said a special election could cost between $1.5 million and $2 million and costs would be shared by the state and local governments.
Wynn’s district covers portions of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, which are both already footing the bill for special elections for vacant county council positions.
“With the state already hurting for money, it just seems disrespectful to his constituents,” James said, adding it puts a financial burden on him and Edwards to potentially have to run three races in a year.
A spokeswoman for O’Malley said the governor had spoken with Wynn, but had not made any decisions at this time about whether to hold a special election or leave the seat vacant.
