Cannabis chair sues state treasurer to block her suspension; charges treasurer took side of out of control, vicious staffers who resent oversight

Shannon O'Brien today sued state Treasurer Deb Goldberg to try to keep Goldberg from firing her as chair of the state Cannabis Control Commission, saying that Goldberg doesn't even have the authority to fire her, let alone because of allegedly bogus allegations of wrongdoing by staffers who don't want anyone telling them what to do.

In her suit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, O'Brien - a former state treasurer herself - charged that her predecessor as chair, Steven Hoffman resigned in May, 2022 because of false accusations from staff. When he resigned, Hoffman declined to say why.

O'Brien, whose suit painted her as "a no nonsense, blunt person who has a strong record of bringing needed change to various organizations," became the staff's target from the start, possibly because Goldberg hired her specifically to be "a change agent at the CCC and who would make significant improvements to the CCC's operations" - in particular to right the "flailing CCC" and its inability to ensure that minority entrepreneurs got a fair shake in the new industry.

But:

Chair O'Brien was greeted with resistance and insubordination from the staff from the first day she was sworn in as Chair [on Sept. 1, 2022].

According to the complaint, one of the first things O'Brien tried to do was to schedule regular meetings with the commission's full-time executive director,
Shawn Collins, to get up to speed on marijuana matters, only to have Collins refuse, in part because he wasn't in the office on a regular basis. In fact, the complaint alleged, Collins was regularly having meetings with other commissioners - and "was in fact the person directing the commissioners' work."

Her suit continued:

Chair O'Brien soon became aware that a "playbook" existed at the CCC where it became apparent that there was an entrenched bureaucracy at the CCC that would assert baseless allegations in order to cause lengthy internal investigations that were designed to force resignations. ...

At least one CCC employee, after her appointment, informed Chair O'Brien that she would be "Hoffman 2.0."

On another occasion, in October, 2022, the Executive Director informed Chair O'Brien that he was keeping a file to use against another CCC commissioner if she "ever gave him trouble."

At some point in 2022, CCC's Executive Director informed Chair O'Brien that the CCC's Chief Communications Officer, "hated" the former Chair and filed an internal complaint in order to force him out of his role as Chair.

Upon information and belief, the Executive Director also boasted to individuals outside of the CCC that he personally "got rid of the former Chair" in an apparent concerted effort with another CCC employee.

Upon information and belief, the Executive Director's Executive Assistant separately informed someone outside of the CCC that she "got rid of the former Chair" after lodging an untrue accusation against her.

The pattern and practice continued with Chair O'Brien.

Upon information and belief, Chair O'Brien, like her predecessor, has been subjected to the making of false and defamatory allegations against her, all made in an effort to force her removal.

Although Goldberg's letter to O'Brien says she was being suspended - with pay - O'Brien says she was, in fact, fired from her post, which has, among other things, damaged her reputation.

By not specifying why she was being suspended and by not being given a chance to rebut the allegations, Goldberg violated her due-process rights, the suit alleged.

O'Brien asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order that would require Goldberg to reinstate her - pending a trial at which O'Brien's attorney would make the case for a permanent injunction barring her firing for the remainder of her five-year term.

Goldberg has until Jan. 26 to answer the complaint.