Gov. Philip D. Murphy, as expected, has nominated Kearny Mayor Alberto G. Santos to become a state Superior Court judge, with an initial seven-year term, the state judiciary announced on its website. The nomination is dated June 1 and is subject to a state Senate hearing and then a vote of the full Senate thereafter.
If the hearing and vote does not take place before the current session ends sometime this June, it would then likely be pushed to the fall.
Santos, meanwhile, would have to resign his position as mayor once his spot on the bench is approved.
He has been mayor of Kearny since Jan. 1, 2000.
More to follow as information becomes available.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.