Independent journalist Grant Smith Ellis writes
My sources within the agency are thrilled with a decision they are hailing as “heroic” and “a fundamental change in how the agency operates internally”, including related to allegations levied by female staff members against high-ranking leadership (and a subsequent cover-up of those allegations).
Read more about those serious allegations directed at a currently-suspended CCC staffer, Cedric Sinclair, (and an alleged cover-up by at least two Commissioners, Ava Concepcion and Nurys Camargo) directly from an impacted victim here – https://lnkd.in/eGy_kXzZ
Just two days from now, on Wednesday, October 30th, the CCC will be the subject of a highly-anticipated hearing on Beacon Hill (wherein lawmakers will consider fundamentally altering the structure of the embattled agency amid concerns about testing lab fraud, cover-ups of abuse, a broke local licensing process, and a spring, 2024, request by the state’s Inspector General (more in post and bio).
Lakeman, say my sources, is the perfect person to lead the CCC during this time of crisis (and his interview today, including a sublime answer to a question about how to deal with “media leaks”, certainly speaks to that high level of praise).
October 28, 2024
9:30 a.m.
Location:
Worcester Union Station
2 Washington Square
Worcester, MA 01604
In-Person and Remote via Microsoft Teams
Agenda
- Call to Order
- Executive Director Final Interviews (order may vary)
- Travis Ahern
- Matt Giancola
- Marty Golightly
- David Lakeman
- Commissioner Deliberation & Vote
- New Business Not Anticipated at Time of Posting
- Next Meeting Date
- Adjournment
*Closed captioning available
If you need reasonable accommodations in order to participate in the meeting, contact the ADA Coordinator Debra Hilton-Creek in advance of the meeting. While the Commission will do its best to accommodate you, certain accommodations may not be available if requested immediately before the meeting.
Posted October 24, 2024 9:19 a.m.
Who is David Lakeman?
David Lakeman – Massachusetts Municipal Association Legislative Analyst
His articles https://www.mma.org/author/dlakeman/
AOL
https://www.aol.com/illinois-official-chosen-next-ccc-232256745.html
BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)–State cannabis regulators have picked their next executive director, voting Monday to begin the process of bringing back a former head of its government affairs operation to lead the entire agency into a new chapter.
The Cannabis Control Commission voted 3-0 Monday to begin contract negotiations with David Lakeman, who has been leading the Cannabis Division at the Illinois Department of Agriculture since he left the CCC in 2020. Before settling on Lakeman as their preferred candidate late Monday afternoon, commissioners interviewed him and three other finalists in public at their Worcester headquarters.
“I see Mr. Lakeman as someone who is well-versed in the Massachusetts cannabis industry, but also built an agency in Illinois. I have in my notes 102 employees that he managed and a $28.4 million budget, some really innovative things around a testing lab and around badging and around IT and technical support out in his industry. And I believe we’re at a point … I think stakeholders want to see us move at a quicker pace and want to see us get things accomplished,” Commissioner Kimberly Roy said. “And government sometimes moves at its own pace, but having an individual that has already accomplished some of the things we’re trying to accomplish here for the industry, I think would be extraordinarily helpful.”
When the CCC launched its search for the second full-fledged executive director in its seven-year history this spring, commissioners said they were looking for a “visionary leader” and a “tough, strategic thinker” who can lead the agency that has been under a harsh spotlight for more than a year as the legal marijuana industry it oversees matures and prepares for potential shifts at the federal level.
Lakeman, the current director of the Cannabis Division at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, was the CCC’s first point-person on Beacon Hill. He said he was the sixth employee hired by the agency, and worked as its director of government affairs from 2018 until 2020. Before his CCC stint, Lakeman was a legislative analyst at the Massachusetts Municipal Association and served on the Cannabis Advisory Board, a role in which he was responsible for writing parts of the CCC’s regulations.
“I have a great deal of experience, I think probably matched only by a handful of people nationwide, of regulating multiple state programs while also having been here from the very onset of the Massachusetts program,” he said during his interview Monday morning. “The subject matter expertise is very deep and that is something that I’m able to bring to the commission, both in terms of institutional knowledge and knowing how we got here, but also being able to then bring an outside perspective with a great deal of management experience and policy experience from outside the state.”
Read more https://www.aol.com/illinois-official-chosen-next-ccc-232256745.html
