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Romney appointee forced out of Life Sciences Center
By Globe Staff
The Patrick Administration today forced the leader of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to resign from his post today, just six months after his controversial appointment by a Romney-controlled board.
Aaron D'Elia, a state budget planner, was signed to a $125,000, one-year contract in December despite having no background in science. The life sciences board agreed to give him an additional four months of pay and benefits.
The administration, which also forced D'Elia's assistant to resign, will now launch a search for a new executive director for the center, which is slated to play a central role in Patrick's $1 billion biotechnology initiative.
Governor Mitt Romney, who had railed against lame-duck appointments by past governors, was accused of hypocrisy after the life sciences board appointed D'Elia -- over the objections of incoming Governor Deval Patrick -- just a month before his term ended. D'Elia had served as an assistant secretary in the Executive Office of Administration and Finance under Romney.
The life sciences center was created by the Legislature last year to fund and sponsor biotech research, with an initial appropriation of $10 million. Under Patrick's plan, the center would be revamped to distribute $25 million annually over the next 10 years in direct research grants and $25 million in tax credits to biotech companies that promise to create jobs in Massachusetts.
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