Christie nominates two Camden County residents for judgeships

Two Camden County residents — a lawyer and the head of the state Casino Control Commission — have been asked by Gov. Christie to serve as judges.

Steven J. Polansky, a Cherry Hill resident and lawyer at a township law firm, was nominated Thursday to serve as a Superior Court judge in Camden County.

Linda M. Kassekert, a Pennsauken resident who has chaired the Casino Control Commission for a decade, received the governor's nod to be an administrative law judge.

Both nominations are subject to approval by the state Senate.

Kassekert, the first woman to serve as chair of the commission, was appointed by Gov. Jim McGreevey in 2002 and reappointed by Gov. Jon S. Corzine. She has served as the commission's representative on the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and held a board membership on Cooper Hospital Health Systems.

She previously worked as associate director of government relations for the New Jersey Education Association. Kassekert was a lobbyist for the 179,000-member labor union, which represents active and retired teachers and others in the state's education community. Kassekert, who holds a law degree from Widener University, was an assistant Camden County counsel in the early 1990s.

Polansky, a lawyer at Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, has focused on insurance-coverage issues. He has trained insurance professionals to avoid bad-faith liability exposure and has litigated claims in trial and appellate courts.

He was a Cherry Hill Township councilman from 2007 through 2009 and served as president of the council in 2008 and 2009.

Other South Jersey residents nominated for Superior Court include Michael Blee and Noah Bronkesh, both of Linwood, Atlantic County; Cristen P. D'Arrigo of Hopewell Township, Cumberland County; and Janetta D. Mabrey of Ewing, Mercer County.

Damon G. Tyler of Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic County, was nominated for administrative law judge.