After fiery debate, Cannabis Commission decides not to replace acting board leader
Photo | Courtesy of Attorney General Maura Healey's office
Ava Callender Concepcion
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission moved to re-appoint Ava Callender Concepcion as the agency’s active chair after a lengthy hour-and-a-half debate Thursday morning that initially sought to replace Concepcion as acting chair amid the uncertainty following the removal of Shannon O’Brien as leader of the CCC board.
A motion made by Commissioner Bruce Stebbins to nominate Commissioner Kimberly Roy as the new active chair failed to pass, as commissioners Concepcion and Nurys Camargo voted against it, leaving the vote at 2-2. Motions require a majority of support to pass. The CCC is based in Worcester's Union Station.
Carmargo, acknowledging the agency was in a pickle over the fact it had an even number of members, then entered a motion to designate Concepcion as the active chair until the agency received more information from the State Treasurer’s office regarding the status of Shannon O’Brien. Roy and Stebbins voted down the motion, once again leaving the vote 2-2.
Stebbins then asked his fellow commissioners if they would be willing to implement a system to see the chair position rotated between members of the board, expressing concern the agency wasn’t following past precedent in appointing the agency’s secretary, currently Roy, as active chair when the appointed chair was unavailable. Roy voiced support for a compromise.
Camargo disagreed, stating a desire for consistent leadership. She proposed a motion to make Concepcion as the chair until the agency’s Dec. 14 meeting. Roy and Stebbins voted against the motion again.
Roy then implored the body to come up with a compromise they could all agree on, once again citing past precedent the secretary should be named the active chair. She then entered a motion to have a rotating active chair, based on alphabetical order of the commissioner’s last names, until a permanent resolution could be reached.
Camargo disagreed with the motion, saying it would lead to a lack of consistency and questioning the need for a rotating chair.
Stebbins then proposed a solution to see Concepcion remain as chair until the new year, at which point the agency would rotate the chair by alphabetical order every quarter until the State Treasurer’s office made a determination about O’Brien’s future. Camargo suggested an amendment that would see the agency wait until December to vote on the rotating chair aspect of the proposal, but Stebbins said he “politely rejected” the amendment, expressing a desire to keep his motion as is.
Concepcion then asked Stebbins what the purpose behind his proposal was. He responded he was seeking to move the agency forward in a fair manner reflecting past best practices. Roy implored the commission to reach a compromise, but Camargo continued to express the opinion that rotating chairs was a bad idea, causing inconsistency.
Stebbins compromise proposal was then put to a vote, with it seconded by Roy, but Camargo and Concepcion voted it down.
Commissioner Roy then entered a motion to name Stebbins as acting chair, but Stebbins declined to second the motion, saying he did not have a desire to serve in the role. Roy then implored the commission to move forward with a compromise.
Carmargo once again entered a motion to see Concepcion serve as active chair until the agency’s December meeting, at which time the agency would resume the conversation about a potential rotating active chair. Concepcion seconded the motion, but Roy argued that the proposal would cause more instability. She then voted against the motion, but Stebbins voted in favor, allowing it to pass 3-1.
The chair position was first left vacant earlier in September, after Treasurer Deborah Goldberg had suspended Shannon O’Brien, just over one year after appointing her to the role.
Following O’Brien’s removal, the commission voted for Concepcion to be the acting chair for the duration of the agency’s regulatory review, which concluded in October.
Goldberg cited serious allegations made against O’Brien by another commissioner and agency staff as reason for the suspension, but her office has refused to disclose any details surrounding the allegations.
O’Brien responded to her suspension by filing a lawsuit against Goldberg in Suffolk County Civil Superior Court, claiming Goldberg had no legal authority to suspend her. The lawsuit alleged an entrenched bureaucracy at the agency has attempted to undermine her since she was appointed in September 2022, and agency employees used false allegations to push former CCC Chair Steve Hoffman out of office.
O’Brien has since agreed to pause the lawsuit after Goldberg relented to a request for a formal administrative hearing regarding her suspension and possible termination. The hearing was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but has since been postponed to Dec. 5, according to State House News Service.
Thursday’s debate over who will be the active chair comes as the agency continues to attempt to establish a governing charter to outline the specific operations of the agency not outlined in the state’s statutes. The agency has held a number of closed-door meetings over the past year to attempt to come to agreement over a charter.
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