The Supreme Judicial Court has upheld Governor Patrick’s right to dismiss Chief Medical Examiner Mark Flomenbaum “for cause.” Governor Patrick determined that Dr. Flomenbaum had failed to show that he could handle the administrative duties of the office (specifically including an incident involving a missing body). Dr. Flomenbaum sued, contending that he could only be dismissed upon actual proof of willful neglect of duty, and in any event that he had an employment contract.
The SJC rejected Flomenbaum’s arguments. Basically, it said that the Governor was entitled to dismiss Flomenbaum under the state law “for cause” standard (here’s the statute) as long as he could supportably make a finding of poor performance. Bottom line:
The parties agree that the plaintiff is a public official subject to removal by the Governor under G. L. c. 30, § 9, “for cause.” They disagree, however, on the appropriate standard by which “cause” is measured. The Commonwealth contends that § 9 permits the Governor to remove the chief medical examiner on a general finding of poor performance that includes, among other things, neglect of duty, incompetence, inefficiency, or poor supervision. The plaintiff asserts that statutory “cause” is met only by proof of misfeasance, malfeasance, or wilful neglect of duty. We agree with the Commonwealth.
The SJC also rejected Flomenbaum’s contract argument, holding that because the contract incorporated the statutory “for cause” standard, a finding that that standard was met disposed of the contract claim.
A good decision, IMHO. To be an effective chief executive, the Governor needs to have control over his staff, and he doesn’t need the courts second-guessing every personnel decision he makes. If someone is doing a lousy job, it should be possible to fire them; that’s basically what this decision says. There was some discussion of the case in the comments to this post at the time the case was argued.
So many times we get treated by our State Government by incompetent people who usually get a pass when they screw up. I’m glad this guy is gone and I hope the Governor continues to look for people who are underperforming. I would hope the Mayor of Boston would do the same.
Somebody definitely screwed up here and needs to be fired.