FALL RIVER While in office, former Mayor Jasiel Correia II was engaged briefly as a private consultant with the marijuana company Northeast Alternatives, with his new gig sanctioned by the state Ethics Commission in 2018.
Despite promising his consulting work with Northeast Alternatives would not include city business in his capacity as mayor, just seven days later Correia signed a letter of non-opposition and host agreement allowing the pot company to open a facility in the city, after getting advice in an email from an Ethics Commission attorney.
Four days after getting the letter and agreement, a principal at Northeast Alternatives donated $20,000 to Correia’s legal defense fund.
FALL RIVER The public sparring continues.
The Fall River School Committee defended itself in a response on Tuesday to criticism rained down on members by the City Council, which condemned four members for their November vote to keep Superintendent Matt Malone despite allegations he harassed and bullied school staff.
“Last week, City Council members questioned the performance of this Committee and its response to these allegations suggesting that a conflict of interest influenced its actions in response to the complaints against the Superintendent. Any such suggestion is unfounded. The members of this Committee followed the proper legal procedure and received specific guidance from the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission prior to participating in or voting on the matters concerning the Superintendent. There is no legal or ethical basis for raising such concerns and it cannot be fairly questioned that the members of the School Committee ethically and lawful
The Boston City Council looks poised to pass a home rule petition Wednesday to skip a special election triggered by Mayor Marty Walsh’s departure ahead of the city’s regularly scheduled mayoral elections later this year.
But with more than a third of the council running or thinking about running for mayor, some disagreement has emerged on who should actually be voting.
“I think that it’s certainly questionable at the least, but very likely unethical for me to take a position on that home rule petition, as it very directly does impact me and my campaign strategy,” Councilor Annissa Essaibi George told WBUR last week, after becoming the third candidate to enter the 2021 race.
Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo has disclosed that he is negotiating job opportunities with Northeastern University. Speaker DeLeo’s Office released the following statement last Friday, Dec. 18: “Today I filed a disclosure letter with the House Clerk and the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission to disclose that I intend to begin negotiating prospective employment opportunities with Northeastern University. As of today, I have not personally had any discussions with anyone from Northeastern University relative to any possible employment opportunities. “On December 16, 2020, I requested that my personal legal counsel contact the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission to discuss my status and to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Conflict of Interest Law. Although, based on my current status, a disclosure is not currently required I have nevertheless elected to disclose my intention to begin negotiating prospective employment opportunities with Northeastern Univ
Beacon Hill Roll Call: Dec. 14 to Dec. 18, 2020
Published: 12/25/2020 5:00:22 PM
Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of Dec. 14 to Dec. 18.
Governor’s abortion amendments (H 5179) The House, 49 to 107, and the Senate, 8 to 32, rejected Gov. Charlie Baker’s amendments to a section of the state budget approved by the House and Senate that changes some of the abortion laws in the state. The section lowers the age from the current 18 to 16 at which a minor can choose to have an abortion without parental or judicial consent. Baker’s amendment would bring the age back to 18.