Gov. Tom Corbett has chosen his nominee to replace resigning Justice Joan Orie Melvin, and it’s a familiar name.
The plant, a Montgomery County Rhododendron, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2012.
“After a year of wilting public confidence in the judicial system, it’s time to turn over a new leaf in our highest court,” Corbett said. “My nominee has a bumper crop of courtroom experience and won’t need to grow into the role; he’s ready to bloom.”
The plant spent 8 years in in the County Court offices in Norristown, primarily as decoration for the reception area but also occasionally in judicial chambers.
Democrats quickly criticized the choice.
“This administration is overgrown with cronyism,” said state Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montco). “It’s time to prune the patronage out of state courts.”
Orie Melvin was convicted in February of, get this, using taxpayer resources for campaign purposes.
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2 Responses
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise as Corbett is a plant himself in two ways:
1) as an operative for big money interests
2) as a mental vegetable
This rhododendron is turning into quite the perennial candidate – likely stemming from a desire to hop on the green bandwagon. Perhaps it’s time it leaves politics and cultivates other options, maybe branch out into grass roots consulting or even start a business… though seed money is hard to come by these days. I suppose if this falls through, there’s always next season.