Former U.S. Attorney Emily Gray Rice will be Manchester’s new interim city solicitor. Rice was officially confirmed Monday by the city’s alderman through a phone poll.
The position was vacant after long-time City Solicitor Tom Clark and his deputy announced their retirements, after complaints by the Attorney General’s Office that the city solicitor’s office failed to successfully prosecute a number of domestic violence cases. And that left Mayor Ted Gatsas to take over.
Gatsas says he was on the phone all week trying to find a replacement. Emily Gray Rice, he says, was the obvious choice.
“She’s got impeccable, impeccable credentials – there’s no question her credentials are second to none and I thought that if we could get somebody of that caliber here, it would help us well in the situation we are in right now with the Attorney General’s Office,” Gatsas said Monday.
Gatsas says Rice also has vital experience in labor law and contracting, which the office deals with. Rice will start the job immediately. Gatsas says his office right now is not looking for a permanent replacement.