Peake Resigns To Take Role In Healey Administration

State Rep. Sarah Peake resigned Sunday to take a post as senior advisor for intergovernmental affairs with the Healey administration.

Peake, D-Provincetown, has represented the Fourth Barnstable District, which stretches from Harwich to Provincetown, since 2007. She has most recently served as second assistant majority leader in the House. She announced in January that she would not seek another term. Her resignation was effective Sept. 22, and she began work in the governor’s office Monday. 

 “I’m very excited about this,” Peake said in a telephone interview. Peake will serve as a liaison to state and local officials with a focus on the Cape and Islands communities and regional issues such as housing, economic development, cost of living, environmental and seasonal community issues. She will also advise the governor on legislative and local matters.

According to a spokesperson for House Speaker Ronald Mariano, Peake's seat will remain vacant until the winner of the Nov. 5 election is sworn in in January. Democrat Hadley Luddy of Orleans is running unopposed for the seat.

Peake said her staff will remain in place to work with constituents through the end of the year.

“They will all still be there to help people as they have throughout the year,” she said.

 Peake said she chose to resign now instead of serving out her term in order to work with the governor’s office on priorities for the coming year. “It will give me a chance to get up to speed,” she said. Most of the work now being done in the legislature is through conference committees, none of which she serves on, she added.

 Peake said she had “full confidence” in Luddy’s ability to continue serving residents of the district. She noted that Luddy will be the third successive woman to hold the seat, following Shirley Gomes and herself.

“It’s been the honor of my life to serve the people of the fourth district for the last 18 years,” Peake said. “They have touched my life and I think I have been successful in touching the lives of many of my constituents.” She said she looks forward to working with the governor’s office on issues she’s developed an expertise on, such as housing and other issues faced by seasonal communities. “That’s something I obviously know a lot about, having run a seasonal business for more than 20 years,” she said.

“I guess there was still a little bit of public service left in me,” she commented.