Senate seals McDonald’s 2nd term on state’s high court
The state Senate on Friday morning approved a second eight-year term for Associate Justice Andrew J. McDonald after a brief debate and a protracted voting process in the legislature’s COVID-era rules, with several written votes in favor of the jurist being read aloud from the Senate podium after being delivered from lawmaker offices in the Capitol complex.
The vote was 26-6, with opposition coming from conservative Republicans including Sen. Eric Berthel of Watertown, Sen. Craig Miner of Litchfield, Sen. Henri Martin of Bristol, Sen. Dan Champagne of Vernon, Sen. Heather Somers of Groton and Sen. Kevin Witkos of Canton.
While Senate opponents did not speak during the floor debate, the balloting showed lingering feelings over the 2018 Senate vote that killed McDonald’s nomination to become chief justice, and which surfaced in the House on Thursday.
Six Republicans voted in favor of the 54-year-old McDonald, who would have become the nation’s first openly gay chief in 2018, but the Senate rejected the nomination.
“He did go through a difficult period when he was put forward as a potential chief justice of the Supreme Court,” said Sen. John Kissel, REnfield. “That did not work out for
him. But since that time he has continued to write many, many decisions, upheld, my understanding is, and well-respected by his collagues. And I just think that as much as he might still be somewhat controversial in some respects, once you serve a term, it’s hard to go back to the private sector, so I think Justice McDonald
should be renominated.”
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved his nomination on Thursday, with some lingering opposition over his opposition to the death penalty and allegations of “judicial activism” from some conservatives.
McDonald was appointed to the high court by then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in 2013, after a two-year stint heading Malloy’s Capitol legal office. Prior to that, McDonald served as a state senator from Stamford.
Sen. Rob Sampson of Wolcott, who is challenging an elections-related fine and who in December lost a lawsuit against Gov. Ned Lamont’s emergency powers to close state businesses in the pandemic, recused himself from the debate. Sen. Dennis Bradley, D-Bridgeport and Sen. Alex Kasser, D-Greenwich, were absent.
The vote for McDonald was the first item on an agenda that the Senate flew through before noon, finalizing terms for 13 other judicial appointments, including including Superior Court Judge Gary L. White of Stamford, Superior Court Judge Shelley A. Marcus of Branford, Senior Judge Marcia Gleeson of Avon, Superior Court Judge Peter L. Brown of Hamden and Senior Judge Frank D’Addabbo Jr. of Cromwell.