The Clarke Bruno Story

This is just a random educational moment, don’t read anything into it – at least not that much: the last time the Democratic majority in the New Jersey Senate killed a cabinet nomination of a Democratic Governor was in February 2007.  Jon Corzine had named Clarke Bruno as his Commissioner of Human Services in the summer of 2006, but Judiciary Committee Chairman John Adler had delayed a committee vote to send the nomination to the Senate floor.  Bruno, Adler said, was wholly “unqualified” for the job.  Corzine blinked and pulled the nomination.  Bruno resigned as Acting Commissioner and joined the Corzine front office as special counsel – a job that didn’t require advice and consent.  Then Corzine put Bruno’s deputy, Jennifer Velez, in charge.