New chair tapped for Cannabis Control Board

Gov. Kathy Hochul is looking to move state Cannabis Control Board member Jessica García over to the chair role.

For more than three years, since its birth, the CCB has been led by former Assemblymember Tremaine Wright, a Brooklyn Democrat. Despite Wright being appointed by Hochul in 2021 at the behest of the Assembly Democrats, a schism grew between the two leaders, which was most clearly evident when language was stuck in the state budget removing the salary of the CCB chair.

The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to consider García’s nomination on Friday, according to a committee schedule released on Thursday. Her CCB bio says she is the assistant to the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

Wright has been serving out an expired term, as her three-year appointment as chair ended in late 2024.

In the spring of 2024, at the direction of Hochul, Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy did a review of the Office of Cannabis Management, which contributed to the ouster of their executive director, Chris Alexander, a Hochul appointee. The governor then tapped Felicia Reid, who moved over from the state Office of Children & Family Services, to serve as his successor.