Soon to come, Frank Ricci.
Bloomberg: Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all can support her, bc I have been all three. And we need her to have a SCOTUS judge from Brooklin, Bronx, and Queens.
Ricci: Firefighters have had to endure to vindicate civil rights. We have become more effective. Too many think that firefighters just fight fires. Rescue works can be very technical require great deal of knowledge and skill. When you house is on fire or in jeopardy, no time for do-overs. Lieutenant test undoubtedly based on skills. All provided a road map for exam. Achievement about commitment and character. Cannot be handed out without consideration. Absentee father and husband because of it. Not enough African Americans. Such action deprived all of us rule of law. Important civil rights and constitutional claims we raised. Appeals court one paragraph. Mentioned my dyslexia. Nothing to do with that. Americans have right to be judged not on race or feelings. Very reason we have civil service rules, root out nepotism or discrimination. Making decisions on who should commend solely based on statistics. Bothered this greatly that some perceived this case as resulting in minorities completely excluded from promotions. They should now enjoy career advancement they deserve.
[Doesn’t that mean Latina Soto would have ruled for you and those Latinos?]
Ricci: We sought basic fairness.
Vargas (another of the plaintiffs): Congratualte Soto on her nomination. Focus should not have been on me being Hispanic. My own govt and some courts responded to that. They didn’t care. I played by the rules. Endured long process of asking courts to play by the rules.
Durbin: Did Soto win a bunch of awards because of a quotas?
Chavez: No. She was not prepared.
Durbin: That would make it an amazing story then.
Chavez: I wish what she was telling Latinos that if you take home books, blah blah blah. I made this a story about racial quotas but I’m gonna claim that she’s the one making the claim.
Morganthau: I took a look at her resume. Common sense and judgment. The fact that she was Latino or Latina had nothing to do with it. One of founding directors of PRDF. Way unrepresented minority.