May 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The CRR vs. PB and Valley complaint reads like a Shakespearean tragedy (or comedy), brought about by Valley’s scorched earth tactics and Gail Price’s hubris. How so?
First, during those “Whispering Woods” hearings, Valley attack dog/super lawyer Jon Drill sends an oh-so polished legal brief to the Board demanding Wendy Dockray be recused for being on Jeff Voigt’s campaign team. What a smarty pants Jon must have thought he was. But OOPS, wait a minute Jon, guess you didn’t know that Valley’s second favorite attorney, Ms Gail Price, is married to candidate Richard Brooks? (Hurrah for women who retain their maiden names.) You didn’t see that one coming, did ya? And as a good attorney like Jon knows, the ethics rules that govern lay people (like Dockray) go QUADRUPLE for attorneys. It’s called the “appearance of impropriety” standard, meaning CRR doesn’t need to prove there will be a new “Price-Brooks” wing at Valley; there just needs to be the potential for some stank. But to make it ACTUALLY stanky, when confronted with the conflict allegation in public, Gail still refused to step down as PB attorney and went straight to Facebook and threatened anyone in Ridgewood with “libel” for mentioning that she and Rich are married.
Gail hurdled “impropriety” and went straight to the “F–k you all, I know what’s best for Ridgewood” standard. That’s why I’m betting we say bye-bye to that mediated settlement, and perhaps to Gail as well. And as for Drill, though he can’t unhoist himself from that petard, I’m thinking Queen Audrey will give him a reprieve because she didn’t know Price and Brooks were married either.
