Heggen Calls it a Career 

In a press conference surrounded by colleagues, family and friends, Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen announced she would be retiring August 1. 

Hagen has served in the Saratoga County DA’s office in some capacity since 1993 — working her way up from Assistant District Attorney to the number two position within the office. She was elected District Attorney in 2014 and will retire with 32 years of service to the county.  

Much of her remarks focused on thanking the many people she’s worked with over the years. She thanked citizens, law enforcement, fellow attorneys, political leaders and her family for their support over the years. Special praise, however, was reserved for her staff. 

“No district attorney can do this job effectively without a team of professionals,” Heggen said.  “I have been blessed over the years to work with an amazing group of attorneys investigators and staff work to achieve the right and just result in each case.” 

Heggen said she’ll miss the camaraderie of the office but believes her departure won’t take away from their work.  

“I leave with a deep, immense sense of pride in what we have accomplished, and I have faith that the good work of this office will continue in the years to come,” Heggen said. “I know that the work will go on because they are they are the special sauce that makes everything happen.” 

Heggen made history as the first woman to be District Attorney in Saratoga County. In her remarks she noted this saying she followed in the footsteps of other female political leaders and hoped she made the path ‘longer and wider’ for anyone who comes after. 

Gratitude for Heggen’s work was expressed by First Assistant District Attorney Alan Poremba. Poremba said he’ll miss being able to talk with her at work about family and other personal matters. 

“Once in a while we get a chance to just unwind,” Poremba said, “It may be late on a Friday afternoon; we would just sit back take a deep breath and say, ‘What a week?’ And then we talk about our families, and we talk about what the weekend is going to be like. Those are the moments that I love the most, when I got to talk to Karen, on a personal level.”

Poremba also highlighted the way she handled the challenges of being a DA in light of changing laws and policies. 

“This may have been the hardest decade to be a DA in the state of New York, with jail reform, discovery reform, and parole reform.,” Poremba said. “She led this office, and she did such a fantastic job.” 

Poremba pointed out that while other jurisdictions saw many cases thrown out due to failure to adhere to the reforms, due Heggen’s leadership the same trend wasn’t repeated in Saratoga County.

As for what comes next, Heggen didn’t reveal any professional plans but said she wants to spend time with her family — particularly with her baby grandniece. As for her family’s reaction, Heggen told reporters that her husband is looking forward to not having to wait till the weekend to spend all day with her.  

Upon her retirement, Poremba will take over as acting DA until one can be elected. Heggen said she won’t endorse anyone to take her role while Poremba declined to say whether he’d be running as he wanted the focus to be on Heggen’s career.