On the eve of the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, a former aide of ex-Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker verbally accepted an offer Wednesday to become the next executive director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
Dean Serpa verbally accepted the offer, an MGC spokesman told , two days after he interviewed before a four-person panel of commissioners. Serpa, who entered the public sector in the 1990s under then-governor William Weld, is the former deputy chief of staff for operations and administration for Baker.
The news came amid outgoing MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein’s impending departure. A longtime state government attorney, Judd-Stein is retiring Thursday upon the completion of her five-year term.
Following an exhaustive search process, the commissioners voted 4-0 to appoint Serpa as executive director. Judd-Stein recused herself from the process.