TRENTON — A year after Gov. Chris Christie first nominated him as a commissioner on the Sports and Exposition Authority, former U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson is finally getting a hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ferguson, 40, is scheduled for an interview with the committee on Thursday for the unpaid but important post. He is expected to...
Former Congressman Mike Ferguson speaking at Raritan Valley Community College in 2006.
TRENTON — A year after Gov. Chris Christie first nominated him as a commissioner on the Sports and Exposition Authority, former U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson is finally getting a hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Ferguson, 40, is scheduled for an interview with the committee on Thursday for the unpaid but important post. He is expected to be appointed chairman of the agency, if his nomination clears the committee and the full Senate.
The Sports and Exposition Authority is currently chaired by Joseph Buckelew, who has served in an interim role since January, after Christie asked former chairman Carl Goldberg to resign .
Two other Christie nominations for the authority remain locked in committee: George Kolber of Monmouth County and Robert Yudin, the Bergen County Republican Organization chairman.
Ferguson’s nomination had been held up in part because state Sens. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) and Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) had, at some point, exercised senatorial courtesy and refused to sign off on it. Senatorial courtesy is an unwritten rule that allows senators to delay approval of nominees who live in their county or who they represent.
Dozens of Christie’s other nominees for various boards and commissions have not gotten a hearing.
Ten other nominations are scheduled to be considered Thursday, including three for superior court judgeships, one for the Election Law Enforcement Commission and one for the Civil Service Commission.