The race for U.S. Attorney (Part I)
By Wally EdgeThere's another statewide campaign in New Jersey next winter: the race to succeed Christopher Christie as the United States Attorney - a post that holds considerable power and visibility, and potentially a launching pad for higher public office. By tradition, federal prosecutors submit their resignations to coincide with the inauguration of a new President.
If John McCain wins, possible candidate for U.S. Attorney include McCain state campaign director Rick Mroz, a former Chief Counsel to Gov. Christine Todd Whitman; and State Sen. Bill Baroni, the Chairman of McCain's New Jersey campaign. Mroz runs former Assemblyman/BPU Commissioner Edward Salmon's consulting firm, and is associated with former Cumberland County GOP Chairman Lawrence Pepper's law firm. Baroni is a Seton Hall University law professor, and has been on Team McCain since 1999, when he worked on the national campaign staff as McCain's advanceman.
McCain could also go with one of Christie's deputies, like First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra or Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Brown.
The selection of Baroni would trigger a series of special elections in the politically competitive fourteenth legislative district. Republicans would hold a special election convention to replace Baroni - possible candidates would include former Hamilton Mayor Jack Rafferty, Councilwoman Kelly Yaede, and Councilman (and '07 Assembly candidate) Thomas Goodwin. If Baroni left office before September 2009, there would be a November 2009 special election to fill the remaining 26 months of his term. The new Republican Senator would face off against a Democrat - possibly Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo, former Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore, Mercer County Freeholder Dan Benson, and John Cimino, now a Freeholder candidate. If Baroni's appointment came after early September '09, the special election would be in November 2010.
The race for an open Senate seat could enhance the competition between Greenstein, who backed down from an '07 Senate race against Baroni after labor leaders weighed in early for the Republican, and DeAngelo, a labor leader who might be more likely to risk his Assembly seat for a shot at the Senate.
Coming soon: who will be U.S. Attorney if Barack Obama is President?
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Stating the Obvious
Could you have picked two more obvious choices? This isn't really telling us anything that isn't obvious. Mroz and Baroni are two of McCain's biggest supporters, obviously they will get consideration if he wins.
As for the two, Mroz is clearly the better choice with the better pedigree. Baroni isn't really a lawyer and is lucky if he has practiced law for more than 500 hours since he was admitted to the bar. As that is less experience than the average summer associate at a New Jersey firm, what makes him remotely qualified to head the office of U.S. Atty.?
That didn't stop
Christie and his brother from buying the job.
Baroni
If I recall correctly, he practiced at Blank Rome for quite a few years before turning to teaching and politicking full-time. Baroni has never been a Prosecutor, but hey, neither was Christie.
If not for monitor-gate, Christie may even have had a shot at re-appointment by McCain.
Baroni was a lobbyist at Blank Rome
Mr. Democrat please do not confuse being a lobbyist with the practice of law. They are two distinct fields of practice.
So was Christie, and so is Mroz
This is all purely academic, considering McCain has as much a shot at beating Obama as I have of marrying Marilyn Monroe.
Christie was a lobbyist at Dughi Hewitt Palatucci. Care to guess how many criminal cases Christie has tried in his entire career?
Rick Mroz was and is a lobbyist. Care to guess how many criminal cases Mroz has tried?
Baroni is a practicing attorney in a huge firm, not a lobbyist (hello?? he's a sitting legislator!) and a law professor. Clearly more qualified than either Christie or Rick Mroz, who fell off the face of the earth in the post-Whitman era and is about as relevant as the Backstreet Boys.
Mongoose
where do you get your information? "Baroni is a practicing lawyer in a huge firm"? Which one? If you're going to say "Blank Rome," guess again. He hasn't been with Blank for years and the only legal work that he did while he was at Blank was to manage to lose the switcheroo case.
Someone please point to one other bit of real legal work that Baroni has done. As for Mroz, I think he was a partner or counsel at some philadelphia firm after the whitman administration. I believe he also practiced prior to joining the whitman administration. Of course, this is only relevant if you don't believe that the role of counsel to the governor is real legal work - I happen to think it is.