PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Vice Chair Thomas A. Connors called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. Also in attendance were Chair Margot Botsford, Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., Commissioner Eron Hackshaw, and Commissioner Patrick Hanley. Chair Botsford participated remotely and Vice Chair Connors chaired the meeting.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Vice Chair Connors 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 28, 2025, and noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Commissioner Edwards, seconded by Commissioner Hackshaw, the Commission voted 3-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the May 22, 2025 Commission meeting. Chair Botsford was unable to vote due to technical problems with her internet connection.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Vice Chair Connors | Yes |
| Commissioner Hanley | Abstain |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson welcomed new Commissioner Hanley. He noted that the Commission now has five serving members for the first time in over six months.
Budget
Mr. Wilson provided an update on the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget. He reported that the Legislature was close to finalizing the Fiscal Year 2026 budget and that the Legislature’s Conference Committee had issued its report which includes $3,750,316 in funding for the Commission, an amount which is approximately $38,000 lower than the $3,788,198 in funding for the Commission in both the House and Senate bills. Mr. Wilson stated that, along with the effective cut resulting from increased EOTSS technology and website-related chargebacks, as well as an impending retirement payout, this reduced level of funding will have an adverse impact on the Commission in the upcoming fiscal year. He said that, as this information had just been received earlier that morning and the budget team had not yet had time to analyze the full impact of the reduced funding or develop a plan to address it, he would provide a more detailed budget update at the next Commission meeting. Vice Chair Connors asked whether all agencies across the board would receive less funding or whether the reductions would apply only to certain agencies. Government Affairs Officer Jennifer McCullough responded that only some agencies would receive lower levels of funding.
Ongoing Projects
Mr. Wilson reported that substantial progress had been made with the additional branched content in the Commission’s online conflict of interest law training program, the implementation of the new Legal Case Management System, and the replacement of the Commission’s existing SFI filing system, which would be discussed during the monthly reports of the Public Education and Communications Division and the Legal Division.
New Commissioners
Mr. Wilson stated that there was nothing new to report regarding the appointment of a new Commissioner to succeed Commissioner Edwards. He thanked Commissioner Edwards for continuing to serve as a Commissioner on a holdover basis.
International Visitor Leadership Program
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission hosted 24 participants from 24 different countries in the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program’s Transparency and Accountability in Government Project, along with several liaisons, on June 3, 2025, for a presentation about the Commission. He noted that the Project’s stated objectives include enhancing understanding of ethical systems for accountability and transparency in government in the United States and addressing international efforts to strengthen the integrity of governments. Mr. Wilson said that he and General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery, Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman, Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti, and Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided a comprehensive overview of the Commission’s various activities. He said that the discussions were thought-provoking, and that he hopes the Commission will be able to participate again in similar events in future years.
Staff Retirements
Mr. Wilson reported that the retirement party for Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti was successfully held on June 17th. He further reported that the Commission had been conducting first-round interviews for the open Public Education and Communications Division Chief position and said that he hopes to fill the position by the end of July.
Mr. Wilson noted that Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu had recently announced her retirement and her last day at the Commission would be August 15, 2025. He reported that the position of Chief of Finance and Operations had been posted and that first-round interviews were being scheduled for July.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meeting was scheduled for July 31, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. Following discussion, the Commission scheduled its next meeting for September 18, 2025 at 9:30 a.m., and did not schedule an August Commission meeting.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery discussed the job performance evaluation of the Executive Director, which was last conducted by Vice Chair Connors and Commissioner Hackshaw in December 2024. She recommended that two Commissioners volunteer to meet with Commission staff individually to solicit feedback regarding the job performance of the Executive Director. Ms. Slattery stated that they will also meet with the Executive Director separately to review his core competencies and major job responsibilities and would present their report to the Commission for their input in public session at an upcoming Commission meeting. Vice Chair Connors and Commissioner Hackshaw volunteered to conduct the evaluation of the job performance of the Executive Director.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION MATTERS
Senior Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti presented Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti’s memorandum reporting on the Public Education and Communications Division’s activities during May 2025 and provided an overview of the Division’s core functions and responsibilities.
Mr. Tuoti provided an update on the online conflict of interest law training program and hosting platform. He reported that he, Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia, and Administrative Assistant Arisa Waguespack responded to 377 calls and e-mails regarding the online learning training program and hosting platform in May, a decrease from the 452 calls and e-mails as reported at the May meeting and the 655 calls and emails reported at the April meeting.
Mr. Tuoti provided an update on the new branched content for legislative staff for the online training program. Mr. Tuoti reported that the vendor, SkillBurst Interactive, had produced closed captioning in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and traditional and simplified Chinese. He noted that the Commission independently evaluated the translations for accuracy and context and thanked Senior Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald and Special Assistant to Administration and SFI Rose Costa for evaluating the Spanish and Portuguese translations, respectively. Mr. Tuoti noted that SkillBurst had loaded the updated training program to the Commission’s online learning management system and that the Commission had received new program files from SkillBurst to be provided to the approximately 20 public agencies that host the conflict of interest law courses on their own learning management systems.
Mr. Tuoti provided an update on the Legal Case Management System project. He stated that the project team was continuing to work with the vendor to implement features to allow the system to accommodate online forms submissions of complaints, requests for advice, conflict of interest law disclosures, electronic case filings, public records requests, updated lists of special municipal employees, and charter school board member financial disclosures. Mr. Tuoti noted that the project team was also continuing to work to implement a document search feature to highlight words and phrases for all documents uploaded in the system.
Mr. Tuoti reported that the Supervisor of Public Records recently affirmed the Commission’s denial of a public records request because the requestor sought records from the Commission exempt from disclosure by statute. General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery noted that the requestor may seek judicial review by commencing a civil action in the Superior Court.
Commissioner Hackshaw asked who would assume the responsibilities of Mr. Giannotti in the interim, including conducting public education seminars. Mr. Tuoti stated that there has not been an interim appointment, and that he and Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia are working to ensure that the Division’s essential tasks are completed. He noted that public education seminars are not currently being scheduled. Mr. Wilson explained that demand for seminars typically decreases during the summer and stated that the Division staff will report directly to him in the interim.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division in May 2025 and provided an overview of the Division’s core functions and responsibilities.
Legal Division Metrics for May 2025
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for May 2025.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 67 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 25 pertained to SFIs.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| May 2024 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 64/23 |
| April 2025 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 101/52 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 523 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 149 pertained to SFIs.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| May 2024 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 615/220 |
| April 2025 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 507/141 |
- Review of municipal letters. Division staff reviewed 0 letters issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| May 2024 (same month prior year): | 0 |
| April 2025 (previous month): | 4 |
- Backlog. As of June 20, 2025, the Division has 2 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old. There is a total of 9 pending requests for written advice.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Slattery presented the June/July calendar of conferences/hearings in pending Commission adjudicatory proceedings.
In the Matter of David Vigeant, Docket No. 25-0005 (Order to Show Cause issued June 16, 2025): Commissioner Hanley was assigned as the presiding officer. Senior Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald will serve as legal advisor.
Ms. Slattery reported that there are now five pending adjudicatory matters.
SFI Report
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests (SFI) for Calendar Year 2024. Ms. Duca explained that appointed public employees who do not file by the May 1, 2025 filing deadline and elected public officials who do not file by the May 27, 2025 filing deadline were sent a formal notice of lateness that provided them with the 10-day statutory grace period to file without incurring any possible civil penalty for their late filing. Ms. Duca explained that, with the assistance of agency SFI liaisons and general counsels, the SFI Team worked with filers who missed their filing deadline to get them filed within the grace period. Ms. Duca reported that the SFI Team handled a total of 370 phone calls, emails, and walk-ins for SFI assistance in May, compared to 679 in the prior month. She further reported that the SFI Team continued to work with their vendor to resolve some minor technical issues with the SFI system.
Ms. Duca provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s existing SFI filing system. She reported that the procurement team reviewed the reference checks that were conducted for two of the responses to the Commission’s Request for Quotation (RFQ) for a consultant, finalized the evaluation scoring sheets, selected an apparent successful bidder, and negotiated an agreement with the vendor. Ms. Duca thanked Government Affairs Officer Jennifer McCullough for her work in ensuring that the Commission had the necessary funding to enter into a contract for the consultant, which is being funded by capital bond funding from the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
In the absence of Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman, Staff Counsel Candies Pruitt presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics for May 2025. Ms. Pruitt reported that, while the number of complaints received had increased in May, the Enforcement Division reduced the complaint backlog from 46 to 35.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:09 a.m., on the motion of Vice Chair Connors, seconded by Commissioner Hanley, 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. Chair Botsford was unable to vote due to technical problems with her internet connection.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Vice Chair Connors | Yes |
| Commissioner Hanley | Yes |
Vice Chair Connors stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING
- Agenda for the Commission Meeting of June 30, 2025
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of May 22, 2025, Public Session
- Memorandum, dated June 24, 2025, from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in May 2025
- Memorandum, dated June 20, 2025, 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