Kehoe announces Mark James as pick for next public safety director

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mark James will be the next Missouri Department of Public Safety, according to a Monday press release from Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe’s Office.

The release says that he will assume the role on Jan. 13 and await confirmation from the Missouri Senate. Public Safety Director Sandra Karsten announced her retirement last week.

The release says James earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice and administration from the University of Central Missouri, a master of science in strategic intelligence from National Intelligence University.

James began his career by working as a trooper in the Missouri State Highway Patrol for nine years in Greene and Christian counties, the statement says. He also was recruited to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in 1987 and retired as a special agent in Kansas City in 2007, the statement says. He was picked by former Gov. Matt Blunt in 2005 to become the director of Public Safety and later became the chancellor of Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, the release says.

President-elect Donald Trump during his first term in 2017 picked James as the U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Missouri.