Dan Wolf Suspends Campaign For Mass. Governor

State Sen. Dan Wolf has suspended his campaign for governor and says he will resign from the Massachusetts Legislature next week unless the State Ethics Commission reconsiders its ruling against him.

The commission ruled that Wolf's ownership stake in Cape Air is a conflict of interest because the company has contracts with Massport to use Logan Airport and that Wolf would have to end the contract, divest his holdings from Cape Air, or resign and end his run for governor.

Wolf says he has included his Cape Air holdings in his filings to the Ethics Commission since he was elected in 2010 and the commission did not rule it as a conflict of interest until after his announced his bid for governor.

The commission maintains that it warned Wolf as early as November 2010 and again in April of this year that the airline's contracts were prohibited under ethics law.

“While we understand that this situation creates difficult choices for Senator Wolf, there is no basis for the commission to give him special or different treatment,” commission executive director Karen Nober said in a press release earlier this month.

"Ending all leases and operating agreements between Cape Air and MassPort would effectively prohibit Cape Air from serving Logan Airport, destroy a Massachusetts company, lead to the loss of 1000 jobs, and end air service to 11 communities that rely on Cape Air as their sole year-round carrier," Wolf said in a statement released Thursday. "That is not an option I can in good conscience pursue."

Wolf says he will resign effective Aug. 29 unless the commission changes its ruling.

With reporting by The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom.