There's no question that Gov. Ed Rendell's four nominees for state appellate court vacancies are qualified. Even the Republican leadership in the Senate who ensured a vote against them concedes as much.

So why were the nominees, who would have served for 18 months, rebuffed without a hearing?

As is often true in the state Capitol, where a Democrat occupies the governor's office but his party does not control the Senate, the answers depend on which side of the aisle is providing them.

Republican leaders say they believe the Senate's advice should be just as important as its consent, but they believe it was not heeded. Also, with four vacancies -- one each on the Supreme and Commonwealth courts and two on Superior Court -- there is a rare opportunity to address the lack of diversity on the appellate courts. They are correct in noting the need, given that there is only one woman on the Supreme Court and just two African Americans and no Hispanic or Asian members on the three appellate courts.

Mr. Rendell's position is that the Republicans have different people in mind for the jobs, even though his nominees included two Republicans and two Democrats. This turn of events was a disservice to citizens and to Mr. Rendell's candidates -- former Commonwealth Court President Judge James G. Colins for Supreme Court, Duquesne University law professor Ken Gormley for Commonwealth Court, and Superior Court Senior Judge James Fitzgerald and former interim Superior Court Judge Robert Daniels for two Superior Court spots. Now seats sit empty on the courts and the work continues to pile up.

The only up side is that the vote to reject these candidates occurred early enough in the legislative calendar that this problem can be solved before the summer recess.

Gov. Rendell met with Senate Republican leaders Dominic Pileggi and Joseph Scarnati before issuing his list of nominees. It's time to sit down and jointly agree on a slate that can win approval. While they're at it, the gentlemen should look beyond their own demographics for potential candidates.

There's plenty of time left before the end of June to hold hearings and fill these important posts.