Candidate: Culture At Rockingham County Attorney's Office Must Change

My name is Rich Clark and I am running for Rockingham County Attorney. I am a Democrat who practices law in Portsmouth where I also live with my two sons and girlfriend. Through my business, Clark & Assoc, LLP, I have effectively litigated criminal cases in 30 towns over the past 15 years within the state's district and superior courts.

I would like to share the personal reason why I was compelled to campaign for this position. In 2019, I was wrongfully indicted under Pat Conway’s leadership of the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office for allegedly assaulting and sexually abusing my son after accusations were made by my ex-wife during our custody battle. The Portsmouth Police Department filed an arrest warrant for me based on these false accusations. The warrants were denied when the court found probable cause was lacking. Shortly afterward I was indicted on the exact same charges under Pat Conway’s control even after a court had already refused to issue an arrest warrant. This is just one of many reasons that I feel Pat Conway should be removed from office.

If people do not have the courage to stand up to corruption, governmental failures, racism, loss of women’s rights, and basic gun control –– nothing would happen. After what Pat Conway did to my family and I, through her personal handling of my case, I have been determined to enact change to prevent this from happening to other innocent families whatever their party affiliation is.

Conway's continued unethical prosecution kept me from having any contact with my son for a year and 11 months, not even a text message was allowed, even after Conway knew the Division for Children, Youth and Families had closed the case against me finding the allegations were unfounded. Since getting the phone call that my son had said the story was fabricated, the charges were dropped, and he has lived with me exclusively for the past year.

The only person I have to blame for what happened is Pat Conway. Others have contacted me with similar stories related to Conway’s conduct. How do we stop this? First, we must remove Conway from power. Then I will work with the state Legislature to enact protection that prevents an indictment from being filed when a court refuses to issue an arrest warrant. I will also work with the NH Legislature to mandate that County Attorneys be transparent with a Grand Jury and present known exculpatory facts that way nothing is hidden.

During Pat Conway’s first day she fired Rockingham County prosecutor Jerome Blanchard. Blanchard was the whistleblower who had revealed Conway's husband, a police officer, had been removed from the Laurie List -- also known as the Bad Cop List -- by her former boss who was the Rockingham County Attorney. Some might call this crooked or corrupt, I see it as a call for change –– change that I will lead the day I begin managing the Rockingham County Attorney's Office.

I am not part of a corrupt system, nor am I part of the "Good Ol’ Boy" network. I am dedicated to enacting change and transparency in the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office and I appreciate your vote this November. More about Rich Clark and what I am about can be found at Clark4Justice.com.