New Haven Board of Aldermen urges Sotomayor confirmation

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The New Haven Board of Aldermen has urged confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The board’s resolution, passed last week, is especially significant as the Republican Party and right-wing seek to use the case of white firefighters here to oppose Sotomayor’s appointment and attack affirmative action.

The 30-member board, composed of African American, Latino and white members, voted nearly unanimously with the exception of a ‘no’ vote by the one Republican and one abstention.

The resolution lists Sotomayor’s many impeccable credentials, and emphasizes that she would be the first Latina on the court, where only one other woman now serves.

The resolution quotes President Obama’s criteria for nominating Sotomayor’ “’First and foremost is a rigorous intellect, a mastery of law, an ability to hone in on key issues. … Second, is a recognition of the limits of the judicial role … that a judge’s job is to interpret, not make law,’ he said. ‘Yet these qualities alone are insufficient.’ ‘We need something more.’ ‘What’s also needed on the high court, is the experience that can give a person a common touch and a sense of compassion, an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live.”

The resolution resolves that ‘the New Haven Board of Aldermen of the City of New Haven urges the Congress to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominee Federal Jurist Honorable Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court.’