With the annual shareholder meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. CST Tuesday in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, El Paso Corp.’s incumbent board of directors will know then whether they will remain in control of the massive energy services corporation or whether they will be replaced by a tenacious group of energy professionals.

On Thursday, the dissident shareholder group, led by former El Paso board member Selim Zilkha, received some key endorsements. Both the New York State Common Retirement Fund and the Illinois Board of Investment, which oversees many of the Illinois retirement funds, endorsed Zilkha’s nominees. And the opponents also received the endorsement of the AFL-CIO.

Alan Heveis, the sole trustee of the 945,000-member New York retirement fund, said El Paso’s current “board’s mismanagement virtually destroyed the firm’s value and reflects a troubling disregard for shareholder concerns. The directors must be held accountable for their sloppy performance.”

Meanwhile, Friday, A.G. Edwards downgraded El Paso to “sell” from “hold,” but analyst Michael Heim wrote that the downgrade “is not related to developments in the current proxy fight.”

Heim said that “a drop in energy prices, a disappointing legal or regulatory decision, an inability to sell prices in a timely manner, a drop in the overall stock market, and poor operating results are among the many factors that could cause us to lower our estimate of fair value for the company.” He also noted that El Paso shares have climbed 177% from a Feb. 14 low of $3.33.

The uncertainty at El Paso and the downgrade did nothing to encourage buyers on Friday, with shares falling nearly 7% by mid-afternoon. After beginning the week at $9.25, El Paso was trading down around $8.60 before the close on Friday.

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