Nearly a year after state Treasurer Deb Goldberg suspended the chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, the agency this week once again grappled with the question of who should sit in its driver’s seat.
Last September, when Chair Shannon O’Brien was suddenly suspended over allegations of inappropriate behavior, the other commissioners deadlocked twice before voting in Ava Callender Concepcion as acting chair. A Wednesday meeting offered a near-repeat of that scene, with O’Brien’s fate still unresolved and Concepcion now out on what a CCC spokesperson described as a short medical leave.
Motions to tap Commissioners Bruce Stebbins or Kimberly Roy for the acting role for the duration of Concepcion’s absence each failed without the requisite unanimous votes, and Commissioner Nurys Camargo declined to be considered, citing other responsibilities. The trio eventually agreed Roy would serve as acting chair through next week so CCC business can continue.
“It’s not always pretty to see how the sausage is made,” Roy said after the meeting.
Amid a legal battle over O’Brien’s fate, closed-door hearings and calls for more oversight from elsewhere in state government, the CCC has kept up its work to build out the state’s marijuana industry. But that messy, internal sausage-making has continued to generate headlines.
Here’s a recap of the governance challenges swirling around the CCC for the past year.
Sept. 14, 2023: O’Brien suspended
Treasurer Goldberg suspended Shannon O’Brien as chair of the CCC, for reasons unknown to the public at the time. Later, Goldberg would cite “serious allegations” about O’Brien’s conduct, including charges that she’d made racist and culturally sensitive remarks. Another investigation focused on O’Brien’s interactions with then-CCC executive director Shawn Collins and comments she made in a public meeting about Collins’ employment plans. O’Brien, who has consistently denied Goldberg’s claims, has continued to earn her $197,000-a-year state salary.
Sept. 18, 2023: Concepcion named acting chair
Acknowledging they were “in a pickle” and “in uncharted territory” with O’Brien suspended, CCC members in a tense meeting picked Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion as their acting chair, initially on a short-term basis. The same day, a group of five state lawmakers asked their colleagues on Beacon Hill to consider beefing up oversight of the commission.
Sept. 28, 2023: O’Brien sues Goldberg
O’Brien, a former state treasurer and the 2002 Democratic nominee for governor, filed a lawsuit arguing that she was improperly removed from the job. Goldberg tapped her for a five-year term as chair in 2022, and O’Brien says she was deliberately brought in as a change agent. The law that created the CCC allows appointing officials to remove commissioners in specific circumstances — neglecting their duties, receiving a felony conviction, committing “gross misconduct” or being found guilty of “malfeasance in office” — after giving the commissioner an “opportunity to be heard.” O’Brien’s attorneys unsuccessfully argued in court that the hearing should be public, with someone other than Goldberg deciding the facts of the case.
Dec. 4, 2023: Collins steps down
Former CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins’ resignation took effect while he was out on paternity leave. Debra Hilton-Creek, the CCC’s chief people officer, has been serving as its executive director. A search is underway for a new, permanent director.
May to June 2024: Goldberg and O’Brien meet
O’Brien, Goldberg, their lawyers and an outside officiant huddled in a conference room in the treasurer’s office for the private, multi-day hearing that gave O’Brien the chance to make her case for remaining on the job. A court-approved protocol for the meetings allowed for a two-week period after the meeting for additional information to be provided, but set no hard timeline for when Goldberg must make a decision on O’Brien’s employment status.
June 18, 2024: IG calls for receivership
State Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro wrote to state lawmakers, urging them to put a receiver in charge of the CCC, which he described as a “rudderless agency without a clear indication of who is responsible for running its day-to-day operations.” Concepcion followed up with her own message to lawmakers, pushing back against the concept of receivership and saying the CCC is “committed to resolving” its challenges, including by adopting a blueprint for a new governance structure. When they invited Shapiro to testify the following month, members of the Legislature’s Cannabis Policy Committee described receivership as a “nuclear option.”
July 30, 2024: Lawmakers suggest more to come
Shapiro had asked that lawmakers name a receiver before formal legislative sessions ended on July 31. The day before that deadline, Cannabis Policy Committee co-chair Rep. Dan Donahue said the panel had opted against receivership but was not yet ready with a solution for the agency’s structural problems. Donahue, a Worcester Democrat, said the committee will hold public hearings this fall “in an effort to engage all interested parties in identifying the best path forward.”
Aug. 14, 2024: Roy named acting chair
With Concepcion on medical leave, Commissioners Stebbins, Camargo and Roy voted to name Roy acting chair for a two-week period so the CCC could review the proposed language for its new governance charter and hold an Aug. 22 public hearing in Great Barrington. It’s still an open question who will take the helm after that. During discussion of the charter, commissioners batted around the idea of electing a vice chair in the future. Roy said it’s something the commission should consider. Stebbins called it an “interesting notion” and said he hopes the charter can help “alleviate this problem” of who should lead the CCC in the chair’s absence, if such a question comes up again down the road.
H/T: www.wgbh.org
