 He was reappointed in 1992 by Governor James Florio and in 1997 by Governor Christine Todd Whitman.On October 29, 1998, he was appointed as the Commission's fifth Chairman and served in that capacity until 2002.In 1976, Hurley made an unsuccessful run for the House of Representatives in against William J. Hughes, who had unseated the Republican incumbent in the previous election of 1974.