"You in there, Jimmy?"
Posted on 04/21/2004 6:02:55 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Digging for votes: McGreevey’s nomination smacks of bootlicking
The nomination of Roberto A. Rivera-Soto yesterday is an obvious attempt by Gov. Jim McGreevey to do some fence-mending before the 2005 gubernatorial election.
McGreevey has some serious ruffled feathers to smooth with the Latino community after pulling back the nomination of a black, Cuban-born woman for the Supreme Court last year. McGreevey withdrew the nomination of Zulima Farber after it was discovered she had a bench warrant issued for her arrest for failing to pay some minor traffic violations.
McGreevey’s Supreme Court shuffle led to the nomination of South Jersey’s John Wallace, and sparked off a rift between the governor, and a pair of Latino politicians - Congressman Robert and Assembly Speaker Albio Sires.
Now McGreevey is taking a second shot at appointing a Latino to the high court, and it comes just in time for his re-election bid next year.
The governor’s poll numbers are still down in the dumps, so he needs to muster all the support he can. Rivera-Soto’s nomination to the high court allows McGreevey to hold up something in the Latino community after repeated snubs.
Rivera-Soto, of Haddonfield, will replace Associate Justice Peter Veneiro, who will step down from the high court in August.
Veneiro faced an uphill battle if he chose to seek reappointment to the bench. McGreevey vowed not to reappoint him, and Verniero would have faced enormous opposition in the Senate because of his role as state Attorney General during the racial profiling controversy that continues to cripple the state.
In naming Rivera-Soto, a registered Republican, to the high court, McGreevey maintains a tradition of an evenly split Supreme Court.
But the governor may have tipped his hand by showing little confidence in his choice, or he may have been playing politics with the nomination.
McGreevey’s people tried to sneak in the announcement yesterday morning -- quietly slipping the event’s announcement into press row mail boxes.
The event, held in McGreevey’s outer office, was not listed on the governor’s public schedule released the night before and was never put on the Just before the scheduled 11 a.m. event the governor’s assistants passed out the announcement.
Speculation around the State House yesterday was that the governor was hoping no one would show up for the announcement.
A look at comments posted on Web site, politicsnj.com, may uncover some potential problems with McGreevey’s nominee.
Rivera-Soto could not exactly be looked upon as a political animal.
He has a "spotty record of participation in the electoral process," according to records from the Camden County Board of Elections obtained by the Web site. "Rivera-Soto has missed eight of the last 10 general elections."
Rivera-Soto has lived in the Garden State since 1998, but failed to register to vote until June 26, 2000, and failed to cast any general election votes in 2000, 2001 and 2003. He registered as a Republican on June 12, 2002--eight days after the primary election that year--and did not vote in the 2003 primary.
"Rivera-Soto had a similar voting record in Nevada, where he lived from 1994 to 1998," the Web site reported. "He registered to vote there in March 1995 and registered as a Republican, but voted only in the 1996 general election."
But Rivera-Soto has written contribution checks, including $3,600 to the 2001 gubernatorial campaign of none other than McGreevey himself. Rivera-Soto also doled out $500 for the governor’s inauguration committee.
But not only McGreevey has benefited from a donation from Rivera-Soto. Assemblywoman Nilsa Cruz-Perez picked a $1,050 contribution for her 2001 re-election campaign, Democrat U.S. Senate candidate in Pennsylvania Joseph Hoeffel picked up a $500 check, and Shelley Berkley, a Congresswoman from Nevada, had a check for $500 given to her re-election campaign.
Rivera-Soto, 50, is a lawyer with a Philadelphia law firm and a longtime resident of Haddonfield. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1984.
He was born in New York City, but grew up in Puerto Rico. He is married with three sons.
His experience as general counsel for the Sands casino will likely serve him best if the nomination is approved, Rivera-Soto said. In that job, he handled nearly every legal situation, unlike other attorneys who specialize in only a segment of the law, Rivera-Soto said
Before he can be seated, Rivera-Soto’s nomination must clear the Senate Judiciary Committee and then be approved by the full Senate.
It’s certainly more interesting than The Sopranos has been for the last couple of seasons.
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