Rich Clark - What’s right from wrong.
Why did Pat Conway fire a whistleblower and what will Attorney Rich Clark do in response if he becomes the next Rockingham County Attorney?
In 2015, Rockingham County paid Attorney Jerome Blanchard $80,000.00 to settle a wrongful termination complaint against present Rockingham County Attorney Pat Conway for her decision to fire Blanchard the first day she took office. Blanchard was a whistleblower who cooperated with State investigators in 2013 resulting in former Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams being removed from office.
County officials said that Pat Conway fired Blanchard in retaliation for reporting that Conway’s husband, a former Salem Police Officer had been removed from the state’s Laurie List, also known as the Bad Cop List or Cop Credibility Concern List. Conway denied the allegations stating that she fired Blanchard because, “it was in the best interest of the county.”
It is shocking to me that Reams removed Conway’s husbands’ name from the Bad Cop List, he then was relieved of his position, and then Conway becomes his replacement. Is this wrong? Is this crooked? Is the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office leadership part of the Good Ol’ Boy Network?
If I am elected as the Rockingham County Attorney, one thing that I would like to do is offer Jerome Blanchard his job back. A whistleblower doing what was right and just should never have been wrongfully fired as Conway did.
In October, Rockingham County will spend $68,000,000.00 on a new complex that will include a new Rockingham County Attorneys Office. If it were up to me, the new building should be named the Jerome Blanchard Building. It would be a reminder that Blanchard did what was right, possessed integrity and is a model for those working as Rockingham County Attorneys. Jerome Blanchard’s integrity is what Pat Conway lacks.
Further reading pertaining to this topic can be found in the NHPR article.
(Richard “Rich” Clark is an attorney who practices law in Portsmouth, NH. He is running against Pat Conway who he feels is unethical, should be removed from power, and should have never been in the position. Rich will implement transparency, fairness, honesty and integrity within the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office.)
