Jody Breton, one of three associate commissioners of the Maine Department of Corrections, has been promoted to the new position of deputy commissioner.

Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick selected Breton as his second in command, just months after he was selected by Gov. Paul LePage to lead the department that oversees the state’s prisons, probation and parole.

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Jody Breton, the new deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, was most recently an associate corrections commissioner. Courtesy Maine Department of Corrections

The Legislature created the deputy commissioner position and eliminated one of the three associate positions this year, at the department’s request, to create a clearer chain of command.

Breton’s promotion took effect Friday. Unlike associate commissioners, the deputy commissioner is exempt from the state’s civil service testing and qualification process.

Breton worked in state government for 25 years in various positions, mostly in finance, before becoming deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection and then returning to the Department of Corrections as associate commissioner.