TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today nominated an openly gay African-American Republican mayor and a Korean-American assistant attorney general to the state's highest court.

Two nominees are Phil Kwon, 44, who worked under Christie when he was U.S. attorney for New Jersey, and Bruce Harris, 61, who was elected mayor of Chatham Borough in November.

Kwon, of Bergen County, would be the first Asian-American to sit on the state Supreme Court, and Harris would be the first openly gay justice.

"I am honored to nominate these two gentlemen," Christie said at a Statehouse news conference. "I trust the Senate will take into account their extraordinary backgrounds and experience and will give them swift hearings.”

The nominees would replace former Justice John Wallace Jr., whom Christie declined to reappoint in 2010, and Justice Virginia Long, who faces mandatory retirement on March 1.

Christie has emphasized that he wants to remake the Supreme Court, which he blames for tying his hands on such issues as financing poor school districts and affordable housing. Last May the state Supreme Court voted 3-2 to force the state to pay $500 million more than Christie had budgeted for New Jersey's poorest school districts.

In 2010, Christie touched off a firestorm when he declined to renominate Wallace. Senate Democrats, infuriated by the unprecedented move, refused to consider his replacement for the seat, Anne Patterson, for a year. Eventually, Patterson was sworn in to replace Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto, who declined to seek re-nomination, and Wallace’s seat has remained vacant.

After refusing in 2010 to reappointment Wallace — who had two years to go before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 — and Rivera-Soto retired, the criticism of Christie grew louder because he left the court with no minority members. The court is currently comprised of five women and two men, all of whom are white.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) has said he would keep Wallace’s seat open until the former justice turned 70. His birthday is March 13.

Before joining the state attorney general's office, Kwon was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for New Jersey for more than 10 years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 from Georgetown University, and graduated from Rutgers-Newark Law School in 1994. From 1994 to 1997, Kwon was an associate at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae in Newark, and from 1997 to 1999 he was a law clerk to the Federal District Court Judge Harold A. Ackerman.

Harris graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, and with honors from Boston University Graduate School of Management. He earned a law degree from Yale. In addition to serving as mayor of Chatham, he most recently worked at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig and previously at Riker, Danzi, Scherer, Hyland and Perretti.

Steve Goldstein, the chief executive of Garden State Equality, a gay rights organization, said he was stunned when Christie called to tell him about the imminent nomination of Harris, 60, a graduate of Yale Law School.

"As I told the governor right then and there, you could have picked me up off the floor," Goldstein said .

He said that when he met with Christie in 2010 at the governor's request, he told him that while they disagreed on the issue of gay marriage, "he wanted his administration to have a good working relationship with Garden State Equality. "

"That has been the case every step of the way," Goldstein said. "Since Governor Christie took office, his administration has treated us with warmth and responsiveness. Yes is yes, no is no, and we’ll get back to you means they get back to you faster than you thought, usually with invaluable help. "

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the governor’s appointments would get the usual vetting by committee members before a nomination hearing is scheduled .

“We are not going to move hastily,” said Scutari, adding that having the two nominees seated by March 1, as Christie suggested, is unlikely.

Scutari said he was pleased by the diversity of the governor’s appointments, but had yet to examine their professional careers to determine their qualifications for the bench.

By Matt Friedman and Jenna Portnoy/Star-Ledger Staff

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