It hasn’t taken long — and he didn’t have to go far — for Randy Alexander to find a new job.

Alexander, who left as Guyton’s police chief in late December, is the new police chief in Pembroke.

Pembroke City Council members hired the former Guyton chief at their meeting Monday night.

“I am very blessed and humbled that the mayor, council and director selected me to be the new police chief for the city of Pembroke,” Alexander said. “We all share the same vision of moving Pembroke in the right direction with their police department.”

Alexander, an Army veteran, is also a certified firefighter. He takes over for interim Pembroke chief Stacy Strickland.

Guyton is beginning its search for a new chief, City Manager Robert Black said, and Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie has agreed to oversee the department in the interim.

Black said he was surprised when Alexander resigned.

“There were occasions Randy and I had differences of opinion,” he said, “but it was nothing that couldn’t be worked out.”

At full staff, the Guyton Police Department has one full-time officer and two part-time officers, along with other part-time officers who fill in on the weekends, Black said.

Black said the city’s safety and security needs will be met with the sheriff in temporary charge of the department.

“We always had their support,” he said of the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, “even with a full police force.”

In the advertisement for the position, the Guyton police chief also will serve as code enforcement officer and public safety director.

Jeff Whitten of the Bryan County News contributed to this report.