AUGUSTA — He’ll definitely write. He might teach; and he may dabble in development in his old hometown.

Former Lewiston mayor Paul Dionne said he has a lot to consider when he leaves his job as head of the Workers’ Compensation Board next month after 15 years.

He has served as executive director under two governors, Angus King and John Baldacci. Dionne said he’s leaving a career of “mainly highs”: Workers’ comp costs are down 53 percent since 1993, injured workers’ claims are handled more swiftly, timely payments are up and fewer workers are facing insurance companies alone in disputes.

“Workers’ comp back in the early ’90s was a major problem facing the state of Maine,” Dionne said. “We had the costliest system in the country.”

Among the difficult times: a deadlock on the board that only changed when Baldacci narrowed it to seven members and made Dionne the tie-breaker in 2004.

Looking ahead, Dionne said he would like to take time to pen a sequel to his first book, “The Priestess and the Pope,” which came out last summer. He might get into arbitration work or teaching at the college level — law, government or writing.

Then there’s the idea of getting involved in some sort of rehabbing.

“I think the downtown area, Lincoln Street, has got a lot of potential,” he said. “I’m kind of intrigued about doing a bit of development work in that area of the city. I don’t want anything to be a full-time job, except for my writing.”

Dionne, who lives in Winthrop, said he doesn’t have a date yet for his departure. That depends, in part, on the confirmation of his replacement, Paul Sighinolfi, a Bangor attorney and partner with Rudman & Winchell. Dionne is helping with Sighinolfi’s transition.

“I think (Gov. Paul LePage’s) appointment is an excellent one,” Dionne said. “It will not be politicized; that’s important for workers’ comp. The parties that really matter are the employers and the employees in the state.”

kskelton@sunjournal.com