PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Chair Margot Botsford called the meeting to order at 9:42 a.m. Also in attendance were Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., Commissioner Eron Hackshaw, and Commissioner Thomas A. Connors. Chair Botsford participated remotely.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Chair Botsford announced that the meeting would take place in-person with remote access provided to the public pursuant to the law signed by Governor Healey on March 29, 2023. Chair Botsford noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
HEARING ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY DECISION
In the Matter of Scott Callahan, Commission Docket No. 24-0013: Authorized Representative for Respondent, Kim McIlvene, and counsel for Petitioner, Assistant Enforcement Counsel Jenny Wojewoda, presented their arguments on and responded to Commissioners’ questions concerning Petitioner’s Motion for Summary Decision. The Commission took the matter under advisement.
HEARING ON ORDER REGARDING SUMMARY DECISION
In the Matter of Jessica Santiago, Commission Docket No. 24-0020: Counsel for Petitioner, Assistant Enforcement Counsel John C. McDonald, presented his argument on and responded to Commissioners’ questions concerning Petitioner’s Motion for Summary Decision. Respondent Jessica Santiago was not present. The Commission took the matter under advisement.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Chair Botsford, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 4-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the November 21, 2024 Commission meeting.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
ELECTION OF VICE CHAIR
Following discussion, on the motion of Chair Botsford, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 4-0 to elect Commissioner Connors as Vice Chair.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson welcomed new Administrative Assistant/Receptionist Arisa Waguespack, who previously worked for the Omni Parker House. He reported that Ms. Waguespack started her new position on December 16, 2024, and that all recently-posted Commission staff vacancies have been filled. Mr. Wilson further reported that Receptionist Leonisa Avelino would leave the Commission on December 20, 2024, to pursue other job opportunities. He thanked Ms. Avelino for her service to the Commission and wished her success in her future endeavors.
Budget
Mr. Wilson provided an update on the Commission’s budget. He reported that the Governor’s supplemental budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025, which includes a $66,500 carryover in unspent Commission Fiscal Year 2024 funds as well as several technical, non-substantive revisions to certain sections of the conflict of interest law and financial disclosure law, was signed into law on December 5, 2024. Mr. Wilson stated that Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu had reported that the Commission was already in receipt of the $66,500 carryover. He noted that the Governor is expected to file her Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal in January by the 22nd.
Ongoing Projects
Mr. Wilson reported that, although the proposed new project for the replacement of the Commission’s existing SFI filing system was not selected to proceed to the Fiscal Year 2026 Phase 2 capital funding round, the Commission has nonetheless submitted a Phase 2 project application to Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS). He also reported that, in addition, Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca and Government Affairs Officer Jennifer McCullough sought and obtained the opportunity to present the Commission’s case for $1.2 million in immediate capital funding to the state Information Technology Investment Advisory Board. Mr. Wilson noted that their December 18th presentation was well received. He said that responses to these requests for funding are expected in January 2025.
COGEL Conference
Mr. Wilson stated that the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) annual conference took place on December 8-11, 2024 in Los Angeles. He noted that the Commission sent a delegation consisting of Staff Counsel Candies Pruitt, Staff Counsel Norah Mallam, Special Investigator Linda Walsh-Romano, Senior Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti, Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia, and himself to the conference. Mr. Wilson congratulated Ms. Pruitt for her very well-received presentation about the Commission’s public enforcement actions as part of an Enforcement Update panel at the conference. He noted that the COGEL annual conference will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2025, and in Denver, Colorado, in 2026.
New Commissioner
Mr. Wilson stated that there is nothing new to report regarding the Governor’s appointment of new commissioners to succeed Vice Chair Martinez and Commissioner Edwards. He noted that he has been in contact with the Governor’s Boards and Commissions Office concerning the appointments.
Staff Training
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission staff participated in a three-hour training program concerning workplace harassment facilitated by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) on December 17, 2024. He thanked Ms. McCullough for arranging the training and MCAD and its Director of Training, Alison Caton, for providing it.
Holiday Party
Mr. Wilson reported that the annual Commission staff winter holidays party would take place later that day following an all-staff meeting and lunch, and invited the Commissioners to attend. He thanked Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca, Special Assistant to Administration and SFI Rose Costa, Government Affairs Officer Jenny McCullough, Assistant Enforcement Counsel John McDonald, and Special Investigator Shawn McElroy for organizing the event.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meeting is scheduled for January 22, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. Following discussion, the Commission scheduled its subsequent meetings for February 24, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. and March 20, 2025 at 9:30 a.m.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION MATTERS
Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented his memorandum reporting Public Education and Communications Division activities during November 2024.
Mr. Giannotti provided an update on the Legal Case Management System project. He reported that the new system is scheduled to launch by the end of the month. Mr. Giannotti thanked fellow Commission staff for devoting time to test the application so that the developer could remediate any functionality issues.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division. Ms. Slattery reported that she and Senior Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald traveled to the Academy for New Legislators at the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the prior week to provide conflict of interest law training for the newly elected legislators.
Legal Division Metrics for November 2024
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for November 2024.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 51 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 4 pertained to SFIs.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| November 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 46/5 |
| October 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 55/3 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 254 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 1 pertained to SFIs.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| November 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 316/10 |
| October 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 338/0 |
- Review of municipal letters. Division staff reviewed 2 letters issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| November 2023 (same month prior year): | 0 |
| October 2024 (previous month): | 1 |
- Backlog. As of December 12, 2024, the Division has 0 pending request for written advice that is more than 30 days old. There are a total of 18 pending requests for written advice.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Slattery presented the December/January calendar of conferences/hearings in pending Commission adjudicatory proceedings.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Slattery reported that there are no updates on pending litigation matters.
SFI Report
In the absence of Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca, Ms. Slattery provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests (SFI) for Calendar Year 2024. She stated that the SFI Team has been responding to inquiries from agency liaisons regarding the preparation of their Designation Lists for Calendar Year 2024, which are due January 6, 2025. Ms. Slattery reported that the SFI Team continued to work with their vendor to resolve some minor technical issues with the SFI system and handled a total of 45 phone calls in November.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics for November. She reported that the Enforcement Division continued to receive a higher-than-average number of complaints, and, as a result, the number of cases in the complaint backlog is increasing. Ms. Brookman noted that the Enforcement Division appears to be receiving fewer cases in December.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Chair Botsford stated that the evaluation of the Executive Director would be conducted in public session, but requested that all staff, except for Mr. Wilson, Ms. Slattery, and Mr. Xia leave the room during the evaluation. She deferred to Commissioner Hackshaw and Vice Chair Connors to lead a discussion of the Executive Director’s core competencies and major responsibilities during the relevant time period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024.
Commissioner Hackshaw and Vice Chair Connors informed the commissioners of the input they received during interviews with staff regarding Mr. Wilson’s performance and discussed his self-evaluation. They then led a discussion of Mr. Wilson’s performance including a review of his core competencies and major job responsibilities.
On the motion of Chair Botsford, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 4-0 to delegate to Commissioner Hackshaw and Vice Chair Connors the preparation and signing of the Executive Director’s written evaluation on behalf of the Commission.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Vice Chair Connors | Yes |
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 11:16 a.m., on the motion of Chair Botsford, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 4-0 to enter executive session to discuss matters subject to the provisions of G.L. c. 30A, § 21, subparagraph (a)(7), and § 18, and G.L. c. 268B, §§ 3 and 4, including investigatory matters, preliminary inquiries, summons authorization requests, and adjudicatory matters.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Vice Chair Connors | Yes |
Chair Botsford stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.
The Commission recessed at 11:17 a.m. and reconvened at 11:27 a.m.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING
- Agenda for the Commission Meeting of December 19, 2024
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of November 21, 2024, Public Session
- Memorandum, dated December 13, 2024, from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in November 2024
- Memorandum, dated December 12, 2024, from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the meeting
- Calendar of hearing dates and pre-hearing conferences in pending Commission adjudicatory matters
- Enforcement Intake Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Senior Program Coordinator