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Shannon O’Brien, the suspended chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, filed a lawsuit Thursday against state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, alleging that Goldberg “willfully side-stepped both Massachusetts law and any process at all” in removing O’Brien from her post.
The suit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that Goldberg “removed Chair O’Brien without notice, without articulated reason, and without opportunity to be heard” in violation of state law.
Goldberg appointed O’Brien to a five-year term as CCC chair last year. The treasurer’s office confirmed on Sept. 15that Goldberg had suspended her, describing it only as a “personnel matter.” The state law that established the CCC does not speak to suspension of commissioners, but lays out a process through which they can be removed by the official who appointed them.
Goldberg spoke to the reasoning behind the suspension for the first time earlier Thursday, before the lawsuit was filed.
“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,” Goldberg said in a statement. “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.”
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