Chatham Mayor Denied Supreme Court Seat

Chatham Borough Mayor Bruce Harris failed to garner enough votes from the .

Harris was denied by a slim 7-6 margin. Unlike Phillip H. Kwon's hearing in March, two Democrats broke party lines to vote in favor of Harris.

State senators Kevin O'Toole, Joseph Kyrillos, Jennifer Beck, Gerald Cardinale, Brian Stack and Christopher Bateman said they were all impressed with Harris' history, intelligence and demeanor and all voted to approve Harris.

O'Toole said when he looked at Harris, "I don't see a black man, I don't see a gay man, I see an American who has done incredible things with his life," and someone who made decisions based on the law he enjoyed practicing, "not on the amount of money he could make."

Beck said if she had any doubt about Harris' qualifications or impartiality, "you've dispelled that.

"You're really an anomaly in that you've reached this nomination, not by the political contacts that you know, not by serving under a governor, but just through your own excellence and very few have done that," Beck said. "Very few have received a nomination based just on their amazing legal ability."

Yet those who voted against Harris—senators Nicholas Scutari, Nia Gill, Loretta Weinberg, Paul Sarlo, Nellie Pou, Raymond Lesniak and Linda Greenstein—cited Harris' lack of courtroom experience and legal publications, and his willingness to recuse himself from same sex marriage cases as the main reasons he was not confirmed.

"Nothing in today's hearing nor in your background suggests to me that you have the requisite skillset" for the Supreme Court, Scutari told Harris.

Gill, the vice chairwoman of the committee, said she was particularly concerned about Harris' willingness to recuse himself.

"I believe your recusal was political in order to get the job," she said. "What if Thurgood Marshall had [offered to recuse himself] from civil rights cases?"

Harris is now the second nominee for the Supreme Court nominated by Gov. Chris Christie this year who failed to be approved by the committee.