Patrick aide stayed mum on job talks
Coughlin hired to lead Mass. biotech council
A top economic development aide to Governor Deval Patrick waited six weeks before notifying the governor that he had talked to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council about becoming its president, a period during which he continued to advance the administration's life science initiatives, according to e-mails and telephone records obtained by the Globe.
Robert K. Coughlin, the undersecretary of housing and economic development and one of the administration's top liaisons to the biotechnology industry, met with the council's search committee on June 11 and was hired to become its new president on Aug. 13. Coughlin, who could earn as much as $500,000 in salary and benefits in the post, did not disclose the meeting to Patrick until July 24.
According to the State Ethics Commission, public officials must immediately disclose to their appointing authority when they enter into discussions or schedule a meeting with an organization for prospective employment if they are participating in matters that affect the organization's financial interests. The laws, which carry civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply, also require the document to be publicly filed with the State Ethics Commission.
Coughlin, who signed his employment contract Friday, declined to be interviewed about the timing of his disclosure. His lawyer, Thomas R. Kiley, said that Coughlin abided by the regulations of the state's conflict of interest law. He said the June 11 meeting with Mass Biotech officials -- a session set up by the council's private search firm -- was not an interview or a negotiation as defined by the law and therefore did not trigger the legal requirement to file a disclosure. He described it as a "meet and greet," adding that Coughlin made no commitments to be a candidate, nor did he close the door.
"He expressly said, this is not an interview and I am not a candidate," Kiley said.
But a 2004 advisory opinion issued by the ethics commission states that courts and the commission have determined that negotiating occurs when a public official and an organization meet to discuss employment.
"Where a public employee and a person or organization have scheduled a meeting to discuss the availability of a position and the employee's qualifications for that position, the employee will be regarded as negotiating for prospective employment with that person or organization," the advisory opinion says. "Prospective employment negotiations are synonymous with discussions and are not limited to the final meetings during which the parties review salary and other terms of employment."
Kiley said the commission's advisory does not reflect the law. "There is no regulation or case law that says what negotiations for employment means," he said. "Bob was happy to meet [the Mass Biotech officials] in terms of networking for his current job and knowing that if he decided to be a candidate, it would be useful."
He said Coughlin received another phone call, on June 25, from the private search firm hired by the council, inquiring about his interest in the position. But again, Kiley said, he made no commitment.
Patrick aides said that when Coughlin notified the governor's office in late July that he was "planning to have discussions" with the Biotech Council, it was the first the governor or his senior staff knew of his activities. He was told to recuse himself from life sciences issues and file a disclosure. His immediate boss, Daniel O'Connell, said that Coughlin first informed him of his candidacy on July 19 and told him he would file his disclosure as soon as possible.
The position at the council opened up in January when former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran resigned after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice charges stemming from his testimony in a civil suit challenging the House redistricting plan. Sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and fined $25,000, he was forced to give up his $500,000-a-year Mass Biotech job.
Coughlin's contacts with the council are reflected in the e-mails and phone records that the Globe obtained through the state's public records law. Coughlin's contact with the council seems to have come initially through the search firm, Levin and Company, which the group hired to find a new president. The records show he called Levin and Company on May 30 and again on June 7. On June 8, he received an e-mail from the firm.
"This note will confirm your meeting with Mark Leuchtenberger and Mark Robinson, Chief Operating Officer, of the organization on Monday, June 11th at 3:30 p.m. at the Bristol Lounge of the Four Seasons Hotel," read the e-mail from Barbara Vaughan, the director of administration for Levin and Company. "A reservation is held under Becky Levin's name . . ."
"I sent you via
"I look forward to it. Have a great weekend," Coughlin responded. Becky Levin declined to be interviewed.
Kiley said the package only outlined the council's agenda and its vision for the industry. Another candidate for the job told the Globe that the package he received also outlined the qualifications the council set for the job. It included having government experience and the ability to work with the Congressional delegation, demonstrating a certain "gravitas," and showing an ability to become an expert in the industry.
Kiley said Coughlin's June 11 meeting with Leuchtenberger was the first time the two men had met, although they both serve on a state advisory board that approves loans for emerging technology firms. Leuchtenberger, the president of Targanta Therapeutics, is chairman of the advisory board. Kiley said Coughlin never attended a board meeting. Leuchtenberger declined to speak to the Globe.
In his July 24 disclosure, Coughlin explained that he was recusing himself "from all matters related to the Biotech and Life Sciences Industries." He noted that the Biotechnology Council will potentially increase its membership and gain additional dues if Patrick's life science initiative is approved. He also said that those who were considering his candidacy for the job "may have organizational and other interests in that legislation."
Coughlin, a two-term Democratic representative from Dedham who resigned his seat in January to take the position in the Patrick administration, has played a key role in the governor's life sciences initiatives, including a $1 billion proposal that was unveiled in early May.
The e-mail documents show Coughlin's role in overseeing the administration's life science issues extended well past his June 11 meeting with the search committee, activities that his lawyer does not dispute.
For example, in late June he met with representatives of the biotech industry who are pushing legislation critical to the council's agenda, expanding the companies' use of tax credits.
Coughlin was also among the top economic aides who played a role in the effort to create an informal working group of state officials, biotech industry representatives, and staff of the Mass Biotech Council.
The first scheduled meeting was June 13, two days after he met with the council's search committee chairman. Kiley said Coughlin was participating in such sessions because he was still operating within the guidelines established by the conflict-of-interest law.
He said that "a second interview" -- not the first -- would have triggered the requirement for a disclosure statement and recusal, based on his reading of state law.
In late May, he led the administration's efforts to persuade Organogenesis, a Canton firm specializing in regenerative medicine, to rethink its plans to move out of state.
The company, which ultimately received a $12.5 million package of state loans and grants, announced May 31 it would remain in Massachusetts. He used the firm's president, Geoff McKay, as a reference to the biotech council. 