As the state’s second-ever Victim Advocate, Michelle Cruz was outspoken and unafraid to take on those in power. That made her just like her predecessor, Jim Papillo.

Now the two have something else in common. Like Papillo, Cruz is leaving office after well-publicized policy disagreements with a governor. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced last week that a prosecutor from Chicago, Garvin Ambrose, will be the new state Victim Advocate, replacing Cruz, a former Massachusetts prosecutor initially appointed by then-Republican Gov. Jodi Rell in 2007.