Mayor Douglas French sent this information in an email to the press on Dec. 18. Read more on the issue here.
As part of the Litigation and Case Management Committee I established for the City in 2010, the purpose was to evaluate cases and their financial implications to the City. Rye continued to have runaway litigation costs at the time and I wanted to put a light on that activity. As part of our last committee meeting in September, it was apparent that a litigation with significant billings to the City of Rye was continuing and trending well over budget -- and that the case would continue into 2013. One of the lead attorneys on the case is the head of the Rye GOP.
Given that this case will continue into 2013, and given that it is an election year when political parties select candidates to serve on the Council that directly oversees and makes decisions on litigation, I think it is in the best interests of Rye that the Chairman step down. This is a direct conflict of interest. I thought the attorneys on the committee after the meeting would have recognized such, but as Mayor, I will make the recommendation now before we begin the New Year. In essence, the people making litigation decisions on this case are being selected by the GOP. The people of Rye need to be sure that there are no financial gains in the basic operations of the City.
