Ava Callender Concepcion, who served nearly five years and temporarily led the agency, steps down following absence
On Monday, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell issued a statement recognizing the resignation of Ava Callender Concepcion from the Cannabis Control Commission.
“Commissioner Concepcion has dedicated her career to social justice and brought a wealth of experience in public safety, equity and opportunity to her nearly five years on the [CCC],” Campbell wrote. “I am grateful … for her public service and wish her and her family the very best as she embarks on the next chapter.”
The announcement probably didn’t surprise anyone who works for or follows the agency closely, including licensees and other stakeholders who watch commission meetings. Though she was active on the body for several years, leading the charge on multiple issues and steering the CCC through tedious regulatory rewrites, Commissioner Concepcion has not regularly attended public meetings for several months.
Last August, the Boston Globe reported that she was going to “take at least a month off per medical advice.” In January, Concepcion wrote on social media that her “family … celebrated the new year with the arrival of our newest addition, a beautiful baby boy.” The commissioner was present at public meetings in May, June, and July, participating in discussions on social consumption among other topics, but has not been there of late.
Comments made by other commissioners at recent meetings indicated that Concepcion would eventually return. Her base salary is $137,000. So far this year, according to state records, she has earned more than $126,000 for her work as a commissioner.
Appointment and temporary leadership
Concepcion was appointed to the CCC by then-Attorney General Maura Healey in January 2021. She filled the seat previously occupied by Britte McBride, and which requires “an individual with a background in public safety.”
Prior to her CCC appointment, Concepcion, a Dorchester resident, served as director of governmental affairs and external partnerships for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and as counsel to state Sen. William Brownsberger, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Healey said in a statement at the time: “Ava has dedicated her career to social justice and her perspective will be extremely valuable to the Commission in promoting safety, equity, and opportunity.”
A close observer of the agency might say things went smoothly for Concepcion at the CCC until the arrival of Shannon O’Brien in September 2022. Appointed by Treasurer Deb Goldberg to serve as chair, O’Brien caught the ire of multiple colleagues who were unnerved by her leadership style, and was eventually suspended in September 2023 and then fired a year later. In O’Brien’s absence, amidst multiple embarrassing public disagreements about who would lead, Concepcion was the first member tapped by colleagues to fill the chair position on an interim basis.
Questioning past votes, plus a new commissioner
Last month, following her return to the commission after a judge ordered her reinstatement, Chair O’Brien questioned the legitimacy of CCC votes which took place while she was gone. That included decisions made while Concepcion was serving as acting chair. O’Brien attempted to pass a motion “to affirm all of the votes that happened when we were not properly organized under a legally designated chair [according to Massachusetts law],” but it failed by a vote of two-to-one. With only three members, the motion needed unanimous support to pass. Concepcion was not present at the meeting.
Deadlocks and weak quorum have plagued the commission for years, with leadership problems and troubling vacancies noted by the state’s inspector general, among others. In May, Commissioner Nurys Camargo stepped down at a critical time for the body, leaving an air of uncertainty around some issues that still lingers.
To correct the course, earlier this month AG Campbell, Gov. Maura Healey, and Treasurer Goldberg announced the appointment of a new member, Carrie Benedon, to the CCC. She comes from serving as the director of the Division of Open Government at the Attorney General’s Office, and fills the seat left vacated by Camargo.
Despite the longtime vacancy, not everyone was thrilled about how the appointment went down. As an anonymously authored editorial published by Talking Joints Memo notes: “There was no notice. No timeline. No transparency around who was considered or what criteria guided the selection.”
