SOUTHAMPTON — Gov. Charlie Baker has called for an immediate investigation of allegations that the fiancee of a Democratic candidate for state Senate has faced politically motivated threats and harassment from colleagues at the state agency where she works.
Baker on Thursday called the allegations raised by Cynthia Lewis “unbelievably disturbing.” Lewis, a program coordinator with the Massachusetts Environmental Police, is engaged to J.D. Parker-O’Grady, the Democratic challenger to state Sen. Donald F. Humason Jr., R-Westfield.
The allegations that officials with the state’s Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs subjected Lewis, of Jamaica Plain, to “harassment, threats, coercion and intimidation” as part of an effort to get Parker-O’Grady to end his campaign, were first reported by the Boston Herald on Thursday. The newspaper obtained a cease-and-desist letter sent by Lewis’ former attorneys to the general counsel for the state agency.
Baker asked the state agency to launch an immediate investigation with assistance from his legal staff.
“The allegations are extremely troubling, and we want to see what comes out of that investigation,” Baker told the State House News Service. “And we expect it will be done soon, and we will act accordingly.”
Speaking Thursday afternoon from Boston, Parker-O’Grady said what Lewis has been subjected to in recent months has been difficult.
“It’s outrageous,” said Parker-O’Grady of 53 Glendale Road in Southampton. “No one should have this happen to them.”
Humason, who represents the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District, said in a statement that he shares Baker’s concerns about the allegations.
“Like him, I do not condone this type of behavior in our state government,” Humason said. “I expect that the EEA will conduct a thorough internal investigation to determine whether any improprieties have occurred and, if so, that there will be a swift and appropriate response.”
The cease-and-desist letter from attorneys with Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP of Boston was sent July 5 to Kate McKeever, general counsel for the state agency, and outlines a series of behaviors characterized as intimidating to Lewis. Among them, she was reassigned from her Boston office to a Fall River outpost, told she should break off her engagement to Parker-O’Grady, and was prevented from using her accrued sick time for a medical leave caused by the stress she was undergoing.
Some of these actions came from a person identified in the letter as Jared Valanzola, an employee in the Department of Conservation and Recreation. According to the letter, “he expressed displeasure and told Ms. Lewis words to the effect of ‘the GOP has been so good to you.’”
The letter states that Valanzola told Lewis that his cousin Michael Valanzola, chief operating officer of the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, was “disgusted with her, suggested that she break off her engagement with Mr. Parker-O’Grady, and ominously stated that if Mr. Parker-O’Grady cared about Ms. Lewis’ career, he would not turn in the nomination papers” to run for the Senate seat.
It continued, “Jared specifically told Ms. Lewis that ‘the Administration’ was unhappy and that if Mr. Parker-O’Grady continued his run, her career with the state would be over and she would never get a raise or promotion.”
The letter goes on to allege that over the next several weeks, other employees within the state agency began to treat her differently and scrutinize her performance.
After her “non-negotiable” transfer to Fall River — which took effect June 6, the first working day after the deadline for Parker-O’Grady to remove his name from the ballot — the agency agreed to reimburse Lewis, who did not have a car, more than $800 a month for bus travel. In Fall River, according to “multiple individuals,” there was no work for Lewis to do and no space for her to work in, the letter states.
Cheryl Parker, Parker-O’Grady’s mother and his campaign manager, said there was never any response to the July 5 letter.
Parker said she also sent a letter to the governor’s chief legal counsel about the matter in June, and on Sept. 12 sought public records from various state entities seeking a variety of communications “between any employee of the governor’s office, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, any employee of the state senate and/or State Sen. Don Humason or any staff member of Don Humason concerning or referencing Cynthia Lewis.”
Parker-O’Grady announced in March that he would seek the Senate seat held by Humason since 2013. The district includes Easthampton, Southampton, Holyoke, Westfield, parts of Chicopee and other towns.
The alleged intimidation of Lewis began March 18, when Parker-O’Grady picked up nomination forms for the seat, he told the Gazette.
“The initial threat was communicated through her to me to not turn in my papers within an hour of me turning in my papers with the secretary of state,” Parker-O’Grady said.
But Lewis told him he should not abandon his run for public office, and he appreciates that this has allowed him to focus on the issues of the district.
In an earlier interview with the Gazette, Parker-O’Grady said his priorities would be addressing the opioid crisis, promoting economic development and improving education.
Lewis has been advised by her current counsel, Daniel O’Connell of O’Connell and Plumb P.C., of Springfield, not to comment.
Parker-O’Grady said he is grateful for the continued support Lewis has given him.
“She’s a strong person, and she’s still standing by me and the campaign,” Parker-O’Grady said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
