By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
After her controversial nomination to become the Department of Corrections assistant commissioner failed to gain support from the Executive Council, Warden Michelle Edmark is back as Commissioner William Hart’s chief of staff.
Hart announced the move Friday in an email to DOC staff, days after he was forced to remove her nomination from the Council agenda.
“In this role, she will provide strategic support to the Office of the Commissioner, assist with special projects and initiatives, and continue contributing her extensive institutional knowledge and leadership experience to the agency,” Hart wrote.
DOC insiders who oppose Edmark’s promotion said the creation of Edmark’s new chief of staff job is just Hart’s way of getting around the Council, whose members were set to vote against her. Now, people in the DOC expect Edmark and Hart to retaliate against the opposition, the insider said.
“He’s now creating a nonexistent position to target those who spoke out against her confirmation. As a public servant appointed by the Executive Council, he’s essentially crafting a role to defy them, all while claiming he wants to unite the team,” the insider said. “Simply outrageous.”
Edmark officially retired from her position as warden of the men’s prison in Concord on May 31, in anticipation of being promoted to the assistant commissioner spot created by the legislature earlier this year. Jessica Kuron already serves as Hart’s assistant commissioner, but the legislative change allowed Hart to reorganize his office and create a second assistant commissioner’s spot for Edmark.
But Edmark’s nomination was strongly opposed by DOC staff, many of whom have worked under her for years, and members of the Executive Council. Edmark was seen by many inside DOC as being part of the problematic leadership team led by former Commissioner Helen Hanks.
The nomination hit turbulence as soon as it was announced, with staff reaching out to members of the Council to stop Edmark’s ascension. That forced Hart and Kuron to hold off-site meetings with DOC staff at the Orr & Reno law offices where employees were encouraged to speak their mind about Edmark.
Those meetings took place a week before Edmark’s nomination was scrapped. It became clear to Hart that Edmark didn’t have the votes after councilors also listened to DOC employees.
Edmark is central to two recent employee lawsuits, one in which the DOC paid $350,000 to settle retaliation claims brought by a former corrections officer, and another pending lawsuit that accuses Edmark of firing a different corrections officer for blowing the whistle on dangerously low shift staffing.
Another DOC insider told InDepthNH.org Hart’s actions to bring Edmark aboard his leadership team despite the opposition inside and outside DOC shows he’s learned nothing from the Hanks era.
“That’s not gonna do a goddamn thing to restore trust, or change the culture in there … clearly we haven’t done a damn thing to eradicate corruption. Hart is just the new Helen [Hanks] in every way,” the second insider said.
Edmark said in a statement she wants to move DOC forward in a positive direction.
“Given all the circumstances, I fully respect the Commissioner’s decision to withdraw my nomination, and I share his desire for the agency to find a path forward-together,” Edmark said. “This experience taught me a great deal about resilience and reinforced how far this agency has come over the years.”
Hanks resigned last year after multiple issues with her leadership team became public: One corrections officer fired for using illegal force on an inmate was given his job back after it was learned DOC leadership sat on evidence that cleared him.
Hanks was also found to have been holding on to exculpatory evidence in the Jason Rothe murder case. The evidence came to light days before former Corrections Office Matthew Millar was set to go on trial for Rothe’s killing. After that evidence became part of the trial, the jury took less than two hours to acquit Millar.
In May of last year, the Executive Council learned Hanks had $2 million worth of Tasers stored in a warehouse for which she did not have approval to purchase. She ended up resigning shortly after that discovery was made, but denies it is the reason for her departure.