Romney’s judicial nominees and his ill-fated effort to revamp a politicized
system offer a window into how he made some of his most important decisions as
Massachusetts’s chief executive. As a Republican governor in a strongly
Democratic state, he started as a good-government idealist, bumped up against an
entrenched system and ultimately decided to work within it. And if, as Romney
suggests, his time as governor is a key selling point for the presidency, his
judicial appointments may be one of his most lasting legacies.
Though he once said people connected to state government would be at a
disadvantage in seeking judgeships, Romney ended up appointing seven lawyers
from inside his administration.
In his final 17 months in office, he pushed through a surge of judicial
nominees, some with controversial records, others with the kind of political
connections he once condemned, records show. They included a former consultant
for
Bain & Co., the consulting firm where Romney made his
reputation in business;a former Republican legislator rejected as too political
by the screening panel; and a court clerk who had been reprimanded for asking a
female co-worker to perform a lap dance at a strip club.
Before leaving office, the governor was forced to withdraw several
nominees.
As governor, Mitt Romney backtracked on promised reforms in appointing judges - The Washington Post
