BEVERLY — State Secretary of Public Safety Kevin Burke, a North Beverly resident, will leave the governor's office in January.
"There are stages in your career where you have to consider what the next step will be," said Burke, 53.
Mary Elizabeth Heffernan, an undersecretary for criminal justice in Burke's department, will replace him.
"The office will be in terrific hands," he said.
Gov. Deval Patrick also announced Joanne Goldstein, chief of the attorney general's Fair Labor Division, will start next month as the new secretary of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. She will replace interim secretary Nancy Snyder.
Burke has been a part of Gov. Deval Patrick's administration since he took office in January 2007. He said he enjoyed his three years on Beacon Hill and plans to be a part of Patrick's campaign for re-election next year.
"It's been a great experience," he said.
As a North Shore resident, a major local accomplishment was moving forward with a 911 regional dispatch center in Middleton.
On a broader basis, he said he was proud to see Col. Marian McGovern appointed as the first female leader of the Massachusetts State Police and knows Heffernan will continue to push for changes in supervising parole offenders.
"There are just many areas that have changed for the better," he said.
In a press release, Patrick praised Burke for saving the jobs of more than 300 police and fire officials, filing "cutting-edge" legislation on criminal justice reform, and providing "exceptional emergency response" to incidents like the December 2008 ice storm.
"Kevin leaves behind an impressive record of accomplishment and has worked day in and day out to make our commonwealth safer," Patrick said.
Before his role as the secretary of public safety, Burke served as district attorney for Essex County from 1979 to 2002 and as a state representative from Beverly from 1975 to 1979.
While he won't miss the commute, Burke said he will definitely miss the staff.
"I will miss the people I worked with tremendously," he said.
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
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