After weeks of silence, the state treasurer has lastly defined her reasoning for eradicating Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien from her $181,722 submit atop the pot board.
O’Brien, who was appointed by Treasurer Deb Goldberg final yr, was unceremoniously suspended, with pay, by Goldberg in mid-September. Until Thursday, no cause was given, besides veiled assertions by the present performing chair to reference the state regulation governing why a commissioner could be eliminated.
Now we all know why.
“Several serious allegations were made by a Commissioner and CCC staff about the Chair’s behavior and the CCC initiated an investigation, hiring an outside law firm. The law firm undertook an investigation and has returned with a report. According to the CCC’s employee handbook, suspension with pay is the only allowable remedy at this point, as the findings are being reviewed and action is considered,” Goldberg mentioned in a press release.
Goldberg went on to say there may be little else she will be able to do at this level besides to simply accept the report of the attorneys.
“The enabling legislation for the Commission clearly establishes the CCC as an independent entity. The role of the Treasurer is to appoint the Chair and jointly appoint two other Commissioners, but beyond that the office of the Treasurer has no other authority, oversight, management, or influence over the Commission,” she mentioned.
O’Brien, a former gubernatorial candidate and ex-Treasurer, has employed the Boston regulation agency Todd & Weld to characterize her whereas the state of affairs with the fee performs out.
Attorney Howard Cooper, a Todd & Weld founding accomplice, didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
In the chairwoman’s absence, Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion has been serving as performing chair on an interim foundation, after her fellow commissioners selected to restrict her appointment to only their beforehand scheduled conferences.
Shortly after O’Brien’s elimination, when requested if the fee might fill the general public in on the explanations for O’Brien’s departure, the performing chair lamented the state of affairs was a distraction from state regulator’s essential work in updating the hashish guidelines, earlier than pointing to the part of state regulation which dictates the explanations a commissioner could be faraway from their submit.
A CCC commissioner, in accordance with the regulation establishing the fee, will be faraway from their submit by the treasurer, governor or legal professional basic if they’re “guilty of malfeasance in office; substantially neglects the duties of a commissioner; is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office; commits gross misconduct; or is convicted of a felony.”
This is a growing story …
Source: www.bostonherald.com”