A former top drug policy advisor to Gov. Chris Sununu who resigned after an investigation into an unspecified personnel issue has been appointed to a state advisory committee on mental health and substance use treatment.
The New Hampshire Insurance Department said Monday that Marty Boldin will serve on the newly relaunched advisory panel, alongside lawmakers, insurance companies, health providers and other advocates. He was a member of that same panel before he stepped down from his role in the Sununu administration in 2018, according to publicly available meeting minutes.
Boldin, who has spoken openly about his experiences as a person in long-term recovery, was named Sununu’s Policy Advisor for Substance Misuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery in early 2017, shortly after Sununu was first elected to the governor’s office.
At the time, the governor said Boldin would “bring a renewed emphasis on recovery programs.” The $95,000 position was funded through the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery, which also funded other addiction support services.
The governor’s office placed Boldin on paid administrative leave in April 2018, citing a “potential personnel issue” that they asked the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office to investigate.
“After assessing the information and following standard protocol for non-classified employees, our office immediately asked the Attorney General’s office to conduct a review,” Jayne Millerick, the governor’s chief of staff, said when the allegations first surfaced.
Boldin resigned the following month. State officials shared few details about his personnel investigation at the time, but Millerick confirmed the governor’s office placed him on leave and “asked the Attorney General’s office to conduct a review” after learning that a state employee raised concerns about Boldin’s interactions with professionals in the drug prevention field.
Separately, several local advocacy organizations told NHPR in 2018 that they instituted special rules for dealing with Boldin because of what they described as intimidating and bullying behavior.
Boldin, now a social worker and counselor in private practice, did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Insurance Department did not respond directly when asked why the department felt it was appropriate for Boldin to serve on that committee, given the circumstances under which he left the governor’s office, but praised his experience in the addiction recovery field.
“Mr. Boldin is someone who, as a person in long-term recovery, had first-hand knowledge and offered a personal perspective on one of the most important issues facing our state,” a spokesperson for the department wrote in response to questions.
