Christie Accuses Dems of 'Partisan Politics' after Court Pick is Voted Down

An angry Gov. Chris Christie accused Senate Democrats of playing partisan politics at the expense of the gay, black Republican he nominated to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Chatham Mayor Bruce Harris was turned down by a vote of 7 to 6 after a four-hour hearing in the state Senate Judiciary committee. The 61-year-old would have been the state's third black justice and the court's first openly gay jurist.

Christie held a news conference about an hour after the vote to rail against the Democrats, saying they were "engaged in polticial assassination."

“Democrats decided that merit doesn’t actually matter, that intellect doesn’t actually matter that temperament doesn’t actually matter, and in fact, diversity doesn’t actually matter either," Christie said. "The only thing that matters is politics.”

Senate Democrats raised concerns about the nominee's lack of courtroom experience and vow to recuse himself from gay marriage cases. Harris had said previously that he would recuse himself because he's championed gay marriage as a private citizen and held a fundraiser at the home he shares with his long-term partner.

The 61-year-old said he's concerned the public would perceive him as unable to be impartial.

WNYC reported in Jaunary:

Harris is a lawyer with more than 20 years of legal experience, most recently working at the law firm of Greenberg, according to the governor’s office. His work has focused primarily on issues of public finance and commercial lending. He’s the mayor of Chatham and, if confirmed, would be the third African-American and the first openly gay member of the court.

The Morris County mayor has alienated gay rights activists by promising the governor he would recuse himself from cases involving same-sex marriage. But the governor said Harris didn't promise him anything. He said that Harris made the decision to recuse himself in future cases because of his previous advocacy for same-sex marriage.

The state's black lawmakers also failed to endorse him.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari said the governor's chance for getting a nominee through the process would be greater if Christie worked with Senate leaders in choosing a nominee.

"It's got to be a two-way street. We've tried to give advice and it has not been taken and now we  failed to give our consent," he said.

Democrats voted down Christie's other nominee in March by the same margin. There were concerns about First Assistant Attorney General Phillip Kwon stemming from the finances of a family-owned liquor store. Kwon would have been the court's first Asian-born member.

The fight between Christie and the Senate is unusual, as WNYC reported in March following Kwon's rejection:

New Jersey governors have always maintained political balance on the court, and nominees are usually well-known. It rankled Democrats that Christie calls Kwon an independent. He registered to vote in New Jersey without affiliating with a party, yet he had been a registered Republican in New York, where he had lived, until last year.

Currently, the state Supreme Court is made up of one independent, two Democrats and two Republicans, with two vacancies Christie is trying to fill.

“It's important to remember that this was certainly an unwritten rule but it was quite often spoken about for the last 60 years it was honored and has been honored by all governors,” said Robert Williams, a constitutional scholar at Rutgers Law School Camden.

Christie said the vote showed that "for the second time in a row the Senate Democrats have made a mockery of the process, of the court and the good individuals who agreed to put themselves up for nomination.”

The seven-member Supreme Court is currently all-white with two vacancies.

Nancy Solomon contributed reporting.