Political Cronyism in Tom Roach's City Hall

As reported by the New York Post 6/22/17, "Political deals don’t get any dirtier than this.

Members of the all-Democratic City Council in suburban White Plains rewarded their party’s well-connected chairwoman with a plum six-figure judicial seat — even though she was too sickly to work, critics charge.

City Judge Elizabeth Shollenberger — who suffers from a digestive disorder and morbid obesity, among other ailments — was unable to climb the three steps to her courtroom bench, even with the help of a specially installed railing, sources said.

City Judicial Review Committee member Mark Elliott has publicly accused Mayor Tom Roach of making sure “the fix was in” for the judge, who had been his campaign treasurer.
“She came to the interview with an oxygen tank. She’s very fragile,” Elliott told The Post.

“No reasonable person could have looked at her as I did and thought that she could finish her 10-year term.” The committee rejected the Yale Law School grad, 61, for appointment to the post."

According to Karen Pasquale, Office of the Mayor, City of White Plains, " Judge Shollenberger was rated "qualified" by the judicial screening committee, based on her long legal career, and Mayor Roach recused himself from voting on her nomination. We hope she makes a speedy recovery, and is able to return to the bench. It's disturbing that anyone would attempt to make political hay out of a woman's personal medical issues after voting to confirm her."

Attorney Mark Elliot disputes the Mayor's version of the facts.

"The statement the Mayor made to the NY Post and News 12 was false and misleading.

The Judicial Screening Committee made no specific findings about Ms. Shollenberger and there was no reference at all to her being “qualified” nor to her “long legal career.” Of course, Elizabeth Schollenberger was not among the nine names we recommended.

At the request of the now-deceased Chair of the Committee, so as to not in any way tarnish the reputations of the more than thirty applicants, the Committee simply stated that it “did not find any applicant unqualified.” Importantly, the Committee’s letter stated that it was the Committee’s hope that the Council would fill the vacancies from among the nine people we recommended. I too wish her a speedy recovery."

Roach’s spokeswoman called the claims about Shollenberger’s appointment “quite a conspiracy theory,” adding: “I would dispute all of that.”