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September 13, 2007

Update: Still 5 candidates for Traffic Tribunal post

PROVIDENCE — A screening committee today decided it would not eliminate any of the five candidates vying for the new $132,062-a-year position of chief magistrate of the state Traffic Tribunal.

The Magistrate Selection Committee could have provided anywhere from three to five names to Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams, whom the legislature has placed in charge of choosing a nominee.

But after more than two hours of interviews and less than 10 minutes of deliberations, the committee decided to forward all five names.

“Some did a little better than others, but there was not such a great difference that would exclude anybody,” said Traffic Tribunal Judge Edward C. Parker, chairman of the Magistrate Selection Committee.

So the five finalists are:

· William R. Guglietta, 46, of Cranston, chief legal counsel to House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox, D-Providence, and a part-time Cranston Municipal Court judge.

· Kelly A. McElroy, 35, of Warwick, a special assistant attorney general in the criminal division.

· Bruce W. McIntyre, 54, of Jamestown, deputy legal counsel in the state Health Department, where he advises the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline.

· Gail M. Valuk, 42, of Richmond, deputy state court administrator.

· William J. Vescera, 46, of Woonsocket, who has solo law practice in Johnston concentrating in residential and commercial real estate transactions.

There was no immediate word on when Williams might choose a nominee, who will face Senate confirmation. The chief magistrate will be appointed to a 10-year term and have the power to appoint magistrates to the Traffic Tribunal.

-- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick

Earlier this year, the General Assembly removed the Traffic Tribunal from under District Court Chief Judge Albert E. DeRobbio and created the position of chief magistrate. Legislators denied they were exacting revenge for DeRobbio’s failure to pick magistrate candidates favored by Assembly leaders. They said the change was part of a budget article creating greater uniformity among the state’s 18 magistrates.

Candidates for the new job are not going through the Judicial Nominating Commission process required for all state judges. Instead, the Assembly put Williams in charge of the appointment, and Williams created the selection committee, which includes Parker, AAA Southern New England Senior Vice President Robert P. Murray and lawyer Alfred A. Russo Jr., a former Democratic state representative from Johnston who served on the transition team of Fox, and Democratic House Speaker William J. Murphy.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:45 PM | Permalink

September 13, 2007

Update: Still 5 candidates for Traffic Tribunal post

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