Former revenue chief to lead reshaped Cannabis Control Commission

Given the chance to reshape the Cannabis Control Commission, Gov. Maura Healey has tapped a former revenue commissioner who recently steered the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to chair the downsized panel.

The governor on Tuesday appointed Christopher Harding as chair of the new three-person commission and also picked as commissioners Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council official Xiomara DeLobato and cannabis law advisor Anthony Wilson.

Healey in April signed a law dissolving the original, five-commissioner structure of the commission, replacing it with a three-person panel appointed entirely by the state's executive.

"The cannabis industry plays an important role in our economy, and this law gives us an opportunity to strengthen the Commission so it can better support businesses, workers and consumers," Healey, who opposed the 2016 legalization of marijuana, said in a statement. "This industry supports thousands of jobs and small businesses across Massachusetts, and it’s important that we have a regulatory structure that is effective, accountable and built to meet the needs of a growing industry."

Healey added that her appointees "bring strong leadership and management experience."

Harding was Department of Revenue commissioner during Gov. Charlie Baker's tenure and most recently has been working as chief of staff and undersecretary at EOHHS, the largest secretariat under the governor's executive arm.

DeLobato works as vice president and chief of staff at the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, where Healey's office said she helps lead regional economic initiatives, business partnerships and workforce development efforts.

Wilson has advised a range of cannabis operators, entrepreneurs and startups navigating Massachusetts’ regulatory landscape through a private practice, and has worked in local government, including as associate city solicitor and city clerk in Springfield and as city clerk in Cambridge.

Harding was a founding member of the Cannabis Advisory Board as revenue commissioner and chaired its industry subcommittee, according to the governor's statement. His background in "operational leadership and organizational management will help guide the Commission through its next phase of reform and modernization," the statement said.

Under the new Cannabis Control Commission framework, the chair is to serve coterminous with the governor, meaning Harding could be on the job only through the end of the year unless Healey wins reelection this fall.

Healey's office said Harding "will be sworn in and begin immediately overseeing implementation of the reforms signed into law earlier this year," including an increase in the possession limit and a raising of a common ownership license cap.

The commission has a public meeting scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m.

Cut out of the process now are the treasurer and attorney general, who each had an individual appointment and a say in two joint appointments from the commission's 2017 launch until this year's shakeup.

The new commission law designates the chair as the person responsible for personnel and administrative matters at the agency and makes explicit that the executive director is to report directly to the chairperson.

Executive Director Travis Ahern was hired last year by a vote of commissioners active at the time.