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Just two weeks after telling The Gazette that he would stay on as chairman of the Frederick County delegation to the Maryland General Assembly, Del. Richard B. Weldon Jr. (Independent-Dist. 3B) announced Dec. 31, that he will resign that post, effective immediately.

Weldon, who lives in Brunswick, said this week that before his interview with The Gazette he had not thought through how he would juggle his legislative duties with his duties as chief executive officer for the United Way of Frederick County.

"I hadn't the faintest idea," he said. "I couldn't answer. I couldn't figure out what I was going to do."

Weldon said after the interview he realized that his position at the United Way would make it difficult to perform his duties as delegation chairman. Weldon accepted the job at the major nonprofit agency in April.

"I am deeply committed to helping build capacity at United Way of Frederick County and turning it into a leader in identifying and addressing human needs in our community," he wrote in an e-mail announcing his resignation from the delegation chair position. "As I'm sure you can imagine, this work is a full-time endeavor, especially in a very difficult economy. There will be a number of times when I'll have to commute between Annapolis and Frederick during the session. The role of delegation chair takes an enormous amount of time, and I would never disrespect you or that important trust …"

Weldon said he plans to finish his term as a delegate, but will not seek re-election in 2010.

As delegation chairman since 2006, Weldon regularly stayed in contact with Frederick County attorney John Mathias on the status of bills that the Frederick Board of County Commissioners put forth in the legislative package. (The commissioners cannot pass certain bills and laws, so they must submit a "wish list" of legislation to the delegates and senators who represent them in Annapolis.)

He frequently attended county commissioner meetings throughout the year and worked closely with Board President Jan H. Gardner (D). Weldon also chaired the delegation meetings during the three-month session in Annapolis.

Gardner is ready to work with a new chairman.

"Rick and I had a good working relationship and I look forward to working with whoever will replace him," she said. "Communication is very important. Obviously what happens to our bills is so important to us. Sometimes the delegation puts in a bill that affects us and it's really helpful if we know about them."

In September, Weldon announced that he was leaving the Republican Party after 31 years. In October, Weldon offered to resign from the chairmanship as a result of leaving the party, but most of his delegation colleagues voiced their support for him to stay.

In an interview with The Gazette in early December, Weldon said he would be happy to stay on as chairman if no one on the eight-member delegation wanted the job.

Weldon said he would leave the process of electing a new chairman to Vice Chairman Joseph Bartlett, the Republican delegate from Middletown.

Bartlett did not return phone calls for comment before The Gazette's press time Wednesday.

E-mail Sherry Greenfield at sgreenfield@gazette.net.