Ousted chair’s attorney: “[Goldberg] refuses to accept the reality that she does not have the grounds to remove [O’Brien].”
After a yearslong legal battle between Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien and Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg about the latter’s firing the former, on Sept. 2 Superior Court Judge Robert Gordon found that “O’Brien’s actions did not constitute ‘gross misconduct’ … and contrary to the Treasurer’s interpretation, removal under [state law] required a showing that O’Brien was unable to discharge the powers and duties of her office.”
The judge also ruled that O’Brien, who was suspended in September 2023 and formally fired from the CCC in September 2024, “shall be reinstated to her position … effective immediately”—with backpay.
Goldberg, whose case painted O’Brien as “boorish,” “abrasive,” and “ill-tempered,” among other things, disagreed. Her lawyers from the state Attorney General’s Office filed an appeal with the court right away.
“I don’t think, under any circumstance, the kind of behavior Chair O’Brien demonstrated should be tolerated,” the treasurer said in a statement after the ruling came down. “I do not accept that harassment and bullying are just trivial issues in the workplace. Frankly, we think this judge got it wrong.”
The appeal motion interfered with O’Brien’s ordered return, and now the embattled chair’s attorneys have hit back. In a response filed in the state’s Appeals Court on Wednesday, they wrote: “After denying [O’Brien] a public hearing, and then attempting to seal the evidence—all the while trying to destroy [O’Brien]’s reputation—[Goldberg] refuses to accept the reality that she does not have the grounds to remove [O’Brien]. [Goldberg] fails to establish that she has a likelihood of success on the merits. Her motion is replete with speculative claims that do not warrant a stay. For these reasons, [O’Brien] requests that the Court deny [Goldberg]’s motion.”
O’Brien spokesperson Joe Baerlein said in a statement: “Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) Chair Shannon O’Brien had been looking forward to resuming her duties as Chair of the CCC given there are presently just three of the five CCC Commissioners participating on CCC policy and regulatory issues.
“Despite Treasurer Goldberg’s continued use of taxpayer dollars to fund her continued lawsuit against Chair O’Brien that was proven to be ‘built on a house of cards’ in the findings by Superior Court Judge Robert Gordon, Chair O’Brien is respectful of the appeals process and will await the appeals court ruling as regards to her return to the CCC.”
To be continued …
