Health commissioner, Sports and Exposition Authority officials among those to be considered
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Governor Chris Christie during a press conference in his office at the Statehouse in this April 2011 file photo. TRENTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday is scheduled to consider 19 of Gov. Chris Christie’s nominees, including the new health commissioner and two members of the Sports and Exposition Authority.
Mary O’Dowd, who took over as acting health commissioner after Poonam Alaigh resigned, is scheduled to be considered for confirmation. But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) said he may delay her hearing if he does not get documents on how medical marijuana providers were selected by her department.
“I understand she’s a good person and qualified and all that stuff from what I’ve been told, but we should have a lot of information. ... I'm going to need that in advance,” he said.
Sports Authority nominees George Kolber and Steven Plofker are also scheduled for a hearing. Plofker, a real-estate investor and attorney from Montclair, is married to makeup magnate Bobbi Brown.
Nelson Ferreira, president of Ferreira Construction, will be interviewed for a seat on the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority. That hearing could get contentious, as Ferreira’s company gave $25,000 to Reform Jersey Now – a group that aired ads supporting Gov. Chris Christie’s agenda and made automated phone calls that targeted some Democratic lawmakers.
Christie’s nominees have been caught in political gridlock, and many have progressed slowly through the confirmation process since he took office in January, 2010.
State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), a member of the committee who has complained about the slow pace, said it’s getting better “little by little.”
“But there are still some very high, medium and low profile nominations yet to be heard,” he said.
