AUBURN – A year and a day after Androscoggin County Sheriff Guy Desjardins demoted his second-in-command under pressure from county commissioners, new commissioners gave their approval for Eric Samson’s return.

In a unanimous vote, commissioners Wednesday approved Samson’s reappointment to the role of acting chief deputy.

“It’s nice to have the opportunity to be involved,” Samson said after the vote.

Over the next week, he plans to wade into his once-and-future role while training a successor to take over as the county jail’s programs officer.

This time, he hopes the chief deputy job will go smoother than it did before.

“I needed to know that I am coming in with authority,” Samson said.

He first took the role of acting chief deputy in January 2007, sworn in beside Desjardins.

Though he was the sheriff’s choice, he failed to be acknowledged by the former commission: Elmer Berry, Constance Cote and Helen Poulin. They denied Samson training opportunities and refused to recognize his signature on official county documents.

The reason: money.

As the county jail’s programs director and a sergeant with more than 15 years of full-time experience in the department, he made between $52,000 and $54,000 a year in wages and overtime pay.

The commission offered a salary of $42,000, the lowest in Maine for a chief deputy. Samson and Desjardins agreed that the promotion shouldn’t mean a pay cut.

A standoff began. It lasted 17 months.

In May 2008, the former commission forced the issue and Desjardins returned Samson to his old job.

In August 2008, the sheriff hired a permanent chief, Michael Ward, at the $42,000-per-year salary. He left after four months for a better-paying job.

Though a new commission was in place at the start of January, Desjardins said he was nervous about asking Samson if he was interested in the role again.

The new commissioners – Jonathan LaBonte, Elaine Makas and Chairman Randall Greenwood – approved Samson’s hiring with the stipulation that the acting status be reviewed again by the end of the year.

Their hope is to re-examine the pay structure of all top county officers and settle on a formula that works for everyone, Greenwood said.

Desjardins was pleased when the meeting ended.

“We worked so well together,” said the sheriff, who picked Samson as his chief even before his election.

In the end, Samson said he returned for the same reasons he had first taken the job. As chief deputy, he can serve as a bridge between the administration and the rank-and-file corrections officers and deputies, he said.

“I’m engaged and I have a deep concern for the people throughout the department,” Samson said.

He started working for the county as a part-time officer in 1991 and rose through the ranks. He made sergeant and was elected president of the department’s labor union.