The commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety announced Thursday that he’s retiring after seven years on the job and more than 25 years with the department.

Jess Anderson said on social media that he was retiring to “begin a new chapter with more time for my family.” He added that working with Utah’s Department of Public Safety has been “the honor of a lifetime.”

Gov. Spencer Cox has nominated Beau Mason to replace him, Cox’s office announced Thursday.

During Anderson’s tenure, he was a leader in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a summer of protests against police violence in 2020. His department also eliminated Utah’s backlog of untested rape kits, and he led an unprecedented — but ultimately unsuccessful — effort to decertify Brigham Young University’s police department.

Cox said in a Thursday statement that “our state is stronger” because of Anderson’s leadership. “We’re deeply grateful for his service,” he added, “and wish him the very best in the years ahead.”

Senate President Stuart Adams said in a statement that Anderson has been a “steady hand in uncertain times.”

Read more at SLTrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.