Fed Chair Jay Powell’s Wife Under Attack From Suburban Pack

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell is used to abuse. President Donald Trump has suggested he’s clueless, bone-headed and even an enemy on par with the president of Communist China.

If Powell wants to know true vitriol, though, he should check with his spouse.

Elissa Leonard, Powell’s wife of over 30 years, has been embroiled in controversy over a dog park she supported in affluent Chevy Chase, Maryland, where she’s chairwoman of the village board.

This week, the board voted to reverse its decision to build the 15,000-square-foot off-leash facility, which opened in 2018. They’ll dismantle the park after bitter complaints from neighbors.

“The size and location of this off-leash area is not meeting standards,” Leonard said at a packed village board meeting on Monday night, according to the Washington Post.

Translation: the dogs were barking too much, and cars with Washington D.C. plates were suddenly parked in the verdant neighborhood adjacent to the nation’s capital. There may have been the occasional spritz on a manicured lawn.

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Leonard, a filmmaker, Harvard graduate and co-owner of Pippa, a Norwich terrier, helped create the park in Chevy Chase, a town which as late as 1948 excluded certain people based on race and religion. Current residents include Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as well as conservative commentator George Will and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.

Average household income in Chevy Chase is about $460,000. Within barking distance of the contentious park, properties are listed for sale for as much as $3.2 million.

The village spent over $130,000 in 2018 to build the facility after a unanimous board vote in favor. Once the fences were up, though, some residents objected to the constant barking, the Post reported. They put up warning signs and called the police. In a town teeming with attorneys, there was talk of a lawsuit and counter-suits.

Pro-park residents mounted a spirited defense, including establishment of a Facebook group, Save the Chevy Chase Dog Park, and turning out en masse at village meetings to press their case. An honorary “mayor” of the park was appointed -- Louie, a black French bulldog -- to fire off press “releashes.” But to no avail.

Dogs will still be welcome to stroll in the refashioned Brookville Road Park on-leash, but free play and the joyful associated barking will largely cease, it’s hoped.

Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, spoke out in favor of the park before the village board’s reversal.

“Dog parks are vital spaces for dogs to let loose, run, play, socialize, and just be dogs, and anyone who tries to close one down is barking up the wrong tree,” she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ros Krasny in Washington at rkrasny1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Ian Fisher

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