With the Chair of the Cannabis Control Commission suspended and the acting chair out on pregnancy leave, the three remaining commissioners spent just under an hour on Wednesday wrangling over who should lead the organization.
It wasn't a pretty sight, particularly given all the attention focused recently on dysfunction at the agency and the focus of the meeting – a governance charter document that in many ways is designed to allay concerns on Beacon Hill about leadership clarity at the commission. The state's inspector general called for the Legislature to appoint a receiver to run the agency, but lawmakers instead decided to hold hearings this fall.
Three votes are needed to appoint an acting chair, but the three commissioners – Nurys Camargo, Bruce Stebbins, and Kimberly Roy – couldn't agree on who it should be. There seemed to be an initial consensus to make Camargo the acting chair. Stebbins said she seemed to be next in line as secretary of the commission, but Camargo said she didn't want the job. "No thank you. Not interested," she said.
Camargo then nominated Stebbins to serve as acting chair until Ava Callendar Concepction returns from her pregnancy leave, but Roy voted no. That left the commissioners staring at each other, stalemated. Roy suggested they may need to adjourn, prompting Camargo to ask if Roy had a solution. More staring ensued, and then the commissioners took a break. Roy urged Camargo to reconsider her decision not to take the post, but Camargo said she had too many other responsibilities.
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