Associated Press Writer

By DALE WETZELBy DALE WETZEL

Cavalier state Sen. Tom Trenbeath has been hired as North Dakota's chief deputy attorney general, and he plans to resign his Senate seat before he begins the job Nov. 27.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem announced the appointment Wednesday. Trenbeath, who is city attorney and administrator in Cavalier, will succeed Sandi Tabor, who resigned to go to work for the Lignite Energy Council in Bismarck.

Stenehjem said Trenbeath's administrative and legislative experience will be advantages in the job. He will be paid $82,500 annually.

"Tom is somebody who has a great combination of capabilities," Stenehjem said.

Republican activists in District 10, in North Dakota's northeastern corner, will have to appoint someone to replace Trenbeath in the Senate before the 2007 Legislature. The district includes Cavalier County and parts of Towner and Pembina counties.

The Legislature's three-day organizational session begins Dec. 4, and the regular session convenes Jan. 3.

Trenbeath, 58, was first elected to the Senate in 2000 and has two years remaining on his current term. He served during the 2005 Legislature as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

He is an alumnus of Neche High School and the University of North Dakota's law school. He was a private attorney in Cavalier before he became city administrator in 1997.

Stenehjem said he waited to make the appointment until after last week's election, in which he defeated Mayville attorney Bill Brudvik to win another four years in office.

"I always had the problem that I might not be able to offer anybody more than one month of work, if the election hadn't turned out as I had hoped," Stenehjem said.