Cox won’t be nominated today

S.J. Cahn

NEWPORT BEACH -- President Bush is set to release about a dozen of his

judicial nominations today, and Rep. Christopher Cox’s (R-Newport Beach)

name won’t be among them.

But that doesn’t mean Cox is out of the running for a judicial seat.

Cox’s Washington office confirmed Tuesday that the first list of Bush

nominees won’t include Cox, who for a month now has been rumored as

Bush’s choice to fill a vacant seat on the influential 9th Circuit Court

of Appeals in California.

Cox was unavailable for comment.

The reason Cox’s name won’t be appearing is the ongoing fight in the

U.S. Senate over how judicial appointments are approved.

The so-called “blue slip” tradition gives home-state senators a say in

judicial nominees. It is embroiled in controversy, with Democrats

charging that Republicans want to change the way the informal -- but

necessary -- nod of approval works.

When Democrats controlled the Senate before the 1994 election, they

allowed a nominee to go ahead with the approval of just one home-state

senator.

After that election, however, the Republican majority changed the

policy so just one senator could hold up a nomination. Now, Democrats

say, the GOP wants to revert the process to the way it was to clear the

path for Bush nominees.

Not that that would help Cox, however. He faces two Democratic

senators -- Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein -- who can hold up his

nomination.

From the beginning, Boxer clearly stated her opposition to Cox’s

nominations. That left Feinstein -- a woman Cox considered running

against in 2000 -- as his only hope for blue slip approval.

The two met last week to talk about the judgeship.

Feinstein has yet to publicly declare a position, but the hold up of

Cox’s appointment is proof she has not given her OK, said her spokesman

Jim Hock.

Still, Cox’s nomination is far from dead. If the political battle over

the blue slip process quiets or Feinstein decides to back Cox, he

probably would get a quick nomination.

However, there’s no telling when that might be, representatives of

both Cox and Feinstein’s office said.

The news that Cox wouldn’t be nominated today surprised the many

political hopefuls who have lined up to succeed the congressman, but it

didn’t seem to alter many courses.

“It doesn’t change my position at all,” said longtime Newport Beach

Realtor Bill Cote, who is mulling a run for Cox’s seat if the congressman

resigns.

The news will slow things down, however, Cote said.

“Anybody who is considering a run is going to have to put on the

brakes,” he said.

Mark Johnson, a member of the moderate GOP group the New Majority who

has committed $1 million to a potential campaign and hired political

consultants, said he would maintain his focus.

“There’s nothing to withdraw from, so to speak,” said Johnson, who

also is a board member of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Other politicians weighing a run for the seat include state Sen. Dick

Ackerman (R-Fullerton), Assemblyman Bill Campbell (R-Villa Park),

Supervisor Todd Spitzer, former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer, state Sen.

Ross Johnson (R-Irvine) and Santa Ana Councilman Brett Franklin.

Non-elected officials, along with Cote, considering a bid include

Newport Beach philanthropist John Crean and Newport Beach physician Don

Udall.

The slowdown caused by a delay in Cox’s nomination could give the

Republican Party of Orange County more chance to pare down possible

contenders, something Cote said the party would want to do but might find

difficult given the strong personalities that have admitted interest in

the seat.

Cox is reportedly not alone as a casualty of Senate politics. The

other rumored California judicial nominee, Los Angeles County Superior

Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, also is not expected to be named today, as is

Peter Keisler. Like Cox and Kuhl, he faced opposition from two Democratic

senators, Maryland’s Barbara Mikulski and Paul Sarbanes.