Alleged Racist Remarks Cited As Reasons Massachusetts Cannabis Chair Was Suspended, Court Filing Reveals

Court filings finally reveal some of the accusations against Shannon O’Brien, Massachusetts' former Cannabis Control Commission who was suspended in September by state treasurer Deborah Goldberg.

Shortly after, O’Brien filed a lawsuit against Goldberg arguing 'unlawful suspension.’ Up until now, the allegations over why O'Brien was suspended were not publicly available.

Some of the allegations have been revealed because O'Brien herself included Goldeberg’s letter in documents submitted Friday in Suffolk Superior Court, complemented with an O’Brien’s response denying all the allegations, reported the Boston Globe. 

Previously, Goldberg only said that other commissioners and staff made “several serious allegations” about O’Brien’s behavior. The letter further reveals that one of the reasons for her suspension was a constitution that O'Brien made many “racially, ethnically, [and] culturally insensitive statements.”

Golberg wrote that one time O’Brien referenced “a person of Asian heritage” during a fall 2022 meeting, saying “I guess you’re not allowed to say ‘yellow’ anymore.” 

While O’Brien did not deny making the comment, her spokesperson said that she disputes using the exact phrase. O’Brien’s lawyers wrote in court filings that the investigator’s conclusion was out of context. They argue that O’Brien was repeating a conversation she had with an African-American real estate developer, who said a specific project would affect “black, brown and yellow people.” 

“There was no pernicious bias or intent on the part of either one,” O’Brien’s attorneys wrote.

Among other reasons for the suspension, Goldberg cited a public incident when she announced that the commission’s executive director, Shawn Collins, was planning to quit and that the commission was, therefore, in crisis. Later on, O’Brien apologized for saying that.

Postponement? 

O’Brien is asking a judge to postpone an administrative hearing set for Tuesday, in which she is supposed to challenge her suspension, claiming that the private meeting organized by the treasurer’s office lacks the “most basic of fair procedures.” 

“Under the circumstances the only likely outcome, unless relief is granted by this Court, is that [O’Brien] will not only lose her job but will go down in history as the former Treasurer and Commissioner who was fired for making racist statements. And she will probably never work again,” O’Brien’s attorneys wrote seeking to postpone the hearing.

Goldberg's spokesperson stated Friday that it is in “the best interest of the taxpayers and the CCC” for Tuesday’s meeting to proceed as scheduled.

Continue reading on Boston Globe.

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