Top Patrick adviser stepping down

But Doug Rubin never yearned for a career in state government, and he agreed to become Patrick’s chief of staff only temporarily - for no more than six months, he said then.

Yesterday, after more than two years in the job - years marked by many successes and at least one notable misstep - Rubin announced he was leaving the governor’s office to return to private consulting and help manage Patrick’s reelection campaign.

“The time is right,’’ said Rubin, 41, who will be succeeded by longtime Beacon Hill insider and Patrick aide Arthur Bernard. “The reform agenda is passed, the budget is signed, and it’s the right time for a transition.’’

Patrick called Rubin “a marvelous leader in our office, a great strategist, and someone who understands what we’re doing and how we’re doing it differently.’’ Bernard, Patrick said, “has become a very close friend and adviser. He is wonderfully level-headed. I love them both.’’

Rubin joined the administration in April 2007, straightening Patrick’s course after he was pounded for choosing a Cadillac as his official car, spending thousands of dollars on new furniture and drapes, and making other moves his critics called politically tone-deaf.

Having run Patrick’s 2006 campaign, he came to the State House and quickly became Patrick’s chief handler, top strategist, and confidant.

“He had the kind of political skills and the kind of sensitivity to political issues that the governor was needing very badly after his first few months,’’ said Steve Crosby, a former senior state official and the founding dean of the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Rubin is credited with helping Patrick advance his legislative agenda - in recent weeks, major overhauls of transportation, pension, and ethics laws - a long and often arduous process. State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who is mulling a run against Patrick next year and was Rubin’s boss before he joined the Patrick campaign, described Rubin’s political skills as among “the best in the business.’’

“I’m not surprised that Doug is leaving. He wants to get back into the campaign, which is his strength,’’ Cahill said. “I’m only surprised he stayed as long as he did.’’

Perhaps the biggest blemish on Rubin’s tenure came in April, when he was forced to accept blame for precisely the kind of political mistake he was supposed to prevent: He orchestrated an effort to place a political supporter, state Senator Marian Walsh, into a long-vacant, $175,000-a-year administration job. After a public outcry, Walsh withdrew her bid for the job.

If Rubin’s strength is politics, Bernard’s is policy, said several people who have worked with him.

Bernard, who served most recently as Patrick’s director of Cabinet affairs, joined the administration in June 2008 after working as vice chancellor at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, a position he took after a four-year stint as chief of staff to former Senate president Robert E. Travaglini. Bernard said his career in government began in 1977 when, as a Suffolk University student, he worked as a State House page.

“Arthur’s got a tool set that has in it tremendous political instincts, an ability to identify with the pulse of the people, an understanding of the responsibility inherent in the execution of power,’’ Travaglini said. “And he is a fine human being - a man of integrity, a fine family man, a wonderful father, a great husband, and a loyal friend.’’

Jack Wilson, University of Massachusetts president, said Bernard is unfazed by intense pressure.

“For some people everything is an emergency,’’ Wilson said. “For Arthur nothing is an emergency.’’

As director of Cabinet affairs, Bernard was something of a conductor, making sure top-level officials carried out their roles in concert with Patrick’s agenda.

“He’s not afraid to tell us when we’re drifting from where we should be and we’ve got to get back on track,’’ said Gregory Bialecki, the secretary for housing and economic development.

By picking Bernard to replace Rubin, Bialecki said, “the governor’s sending a message to all of us that we’re going to continue in the same direction . . . and keep doing what we’re doing.’’

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be asked to serve in this capacity by the governor,’’ said Bernard, who lives in Duxbury. “I’m thrilled that he has the confidence in me to do this job.’’

Rubin departs following a series of legislative victories that will be key to Patrick’s reelection campaign.

But not everyone praised Rubin’s record in the governor’s office.

“A successful tenure? You’ve got to be kidding me,’’ added public relations consultant George Regan. “What have they done?’’

Richard Tisei, a Republican of Wakefield and the Senate minority leader, called Rubin “the last person I’d turn to to run a campaign.’’

“Rubin was brought in to straighten out the governor’s operation,’’ Tisei said. “Now the governor’s poll numbers are in the tank. He certainly had a rocky tenure as chief of staff. We can only hope the campaign will be as chaotic.’’

Frank Phillips of the Globe staff contributed to this report.