Life sciences center chief resigns

The Patrick administration forced the leader of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to resign from his post yesterday, just six months after his controversial appointment by a board controlled by appointees named by Governor Mitt Romney.

Aaron D'Elia, a former state budget planner, was signed to a $125,000, one-year contract in December despite having no background in science.

After meeting behind closed doors yesterday, the life sciences board, now controlled by Governor Deval Patrick's appointees, announced that D'Elia had resigned but would continue to receive pay and benefits for four months. He agreed to forgo three months of pay due on the year contract.

The administration, which also forced D'Elia's assistant to resign, will launch a search for a new executive director for the center. The job is slated to play a central role in Patrick's $1 billion biotechnology initiative, announced last month.

Romney, who had railed against lame-duck appointments by his predecessors, was accused of hypocrisy after the life sciences board appointed D'Elia, over Patrick's objections, a month before the new administration took office. 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.

"I'm disappointed that I can't continue, but I respect the governor's decision," said D'Elia. "He has the right to make decisions like this. My job was to execute, and I feel like I've done that."

Administration sources and representatives of the biotech industry said privately that D'Elia did not have the background or expertise necessary to run the beefed-up agency. They said they were also concerned about the way D'Elia's appointment was rushed through at the end of the Romney administration.

"The agency is moving in a different direction," said a top administration source. "There is a significant investment of resources, and we needed somebody who has the qualifications and leadership to make the best use of this moving forward."

D'Elia was named to the post last December after Romney took control of the board by making two last-minute appointments. D'Elia had been in state government since 1999 .