Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware launches a $450,000 campaign

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Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware (CPBD) announced it will spend at least $450,000 as part of a new multi-channel campaign Following the confirmation of Paul Fioravanti Jr. to serve as Vice-Chancellor.

Fioravanti was quickly confirmed by the State Senate just weeks after his appointment by Governor John Carney. Carney chose the former Prickett Jones Partner based on a recommendation by the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee.

People of color represent a large percentage  of Delaware’s population, according to the group. However, 15 percent of the judges who sit on the state’s Supreme, Superior, and Chancery courts are people of color. 

Said CPBD Campaign Manager Chris Coffey, “The confirmation of Paul Fioravanti Jr. to replace Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves – who became the first African American woman to sit on Delaware’s Supreme Court – on the Chancery Court highlighted everything that is wrong with how judges are chosen in this state. 

Coffey continued, “The Judicial Nominating Committee is yet another example of the rigged, secretive nature of a Delaware court system that consistently promotes the interests of an elite few at the expense of Delaware’s diverse residents. Is it any surprise that black Delawareans have no confidence in their courts to deliver justice?”

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Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware include employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect. The group was formed during a Chancery Court dispute over control of TransPerfect. 

To date, no minority members of the bar have publicly expressed support for the group that critics link to TransPerfect CEO Phil Shawe, who prevailed in the sale but was unhappy wtih the costs and actions of Chancery Court. Citizens have brought the Rev. Al Sharpton from New York City to press for judicial changes.

The Delaware State Bar Association has presented a largely united front against Citizens, claiming it is bankrolled by a disgruntled Shawe. 

 

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