Der Mittenfuhrer withdraws midnight judge nomination due to lewdness allegations

[Ian David]

Romney withdraws court nomination
Pick was cited for sexual remark

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | December 14, 2006

Governor Mitt Romney abruptly withdrew his nomination of a Freetown lawyer for a top magistrate's position in the Housing Court yesterday, hours before a scheduled confirmation vote.

In recent days, Romney had refused to say whether he stood by Stephen G. Carreiro, his nominee for clerk magistrate of the court's Southeast Division, after disclosures that Carreiro had been reprimanded for asking a female court employee to give him a lap dance.

But behind the scenes, Romney aides were clearly growing concerned that support for Carreiro was eroding, and they were quietly canvassing members of the Governor's Council, the eight-member panel that must confirm court nominations. Several female councilors also said they had phoned Romney's aides and urged them to abandon the nomination.

The withdrawal allows the governor to sidestep a potentially embarrassing situation as he eyes a run for the presidency in 2008. While councilors said they were glad that Carreiro's nomination would not go forward, several criticized Romney for not publicly repudiating Carreiro's behavior.

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/12/14/romney_withdraws_court_nomination/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News