In a rare public rebuke to Gov. Rick Perry, the Texas Senate on Wednesday blocked his nomination of unemployed Burleson banker Shanda Perkins to become a member of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles.

After a brief debate, the GOP-controlled Senate by a 27-4 vote sent the nominee of fellow Republican Perry back to the Nominations Committee, where it is expected to die.

Though Perkins' lack of qualifications were cited as a reason for the surprise move, several senators said Perkins' involvement in a controversial investigation over the sale of sex toys in her hometown was a factor.

Wednesday's public vote against a gubernatorial nominee is a rarity, something several senators said had not occurred in years. In most cases when senators want to derail a nomination, they block it so it never gets out of committee.

Just last week, Perkins had been approved by the Nominations Committee, with a single dissenting vote.

"The governor stands behind his nominee," Perry's press secretary Allison Castle said after Wednesday's vote. "He believes she possesses the experience necessary."

Wednesday's vote capped weeks of quiet machinations over Perkins' nomination.

Critics said it was a political pick, an assertion Perry's office denied.

Perkins is Perry's re-election campaign chairwoman in Johnston County.

At a recent dinner there featuring former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Perkins circulated a flier likening U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's record on anti-abortion issues to that of President Barack Obama, news reports showed. Hutchison, R-Texas, is Perry's expected gubernatorial opponent in 2010.

Perkins could not be reached for comment after the vote.

"They talked about qualifications ... but I think the real issue was that some senators wanted to discuss another issue more," said state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, one of four Republicans to vote not to block Perkins' nomination.

That "other issue" was Perkins' alleged involvement in a 2003 controversy over the sale of erotic toys at Tupperware-type parties.

Joanne Webb, a Burleson businesswoman who hosted the parties, was arrested for violating a law that was subsequently thrown out as unconstitutional by a federal court. She and her supporters accused Perkins of sparking the ill-fated investigation.

At her Senate confirmation hearing last week, Perkins denied she had anything much to do with it.

All she did, Perkins told a Senate panel last week, was pass along to authorities a copy of a city ordinance that prohibited sexually oriented businesses from operating near a church or school.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, argued that Perkins was simply unqualified for the $95,000-a-year post.

"This is not a partisan issue. This is not a personal issue. ... This is a life-and-death position. It demands qualifications," Whitmire said.

Three other nominees to the parole board who were confirmed Wednesday by the Senate are highly qualified, Whitmire said. Two are longtime board members who are being reappointed, and the other is a Huntsville attorney.

"They have multiple degrees. ... (Perkins) has no college degree," he said, noting also that Perkins has no criminal justice experience, other than working for a time as a prison ministry volunteer.

Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, agreed. "The basic question is: Are there more qualified people out there?" he said.

As for the lingering issues, Whitmire said he was opposed to the nomination based solely on Perkins' lack of qualifications. "There are others that could be raised. I wish not to go there," he said.

After 10 minutes of debate, senators returned to their chairs and quietly voted down Perkins, in a chamber that is usually noisy with conversations.

While some senators suggested that Perry might nominate Perkins for another post, several others said that's unlikely with only two weeks left in the legislative session.

"I generally think governors should be able to appoint whoever they want, unless there's something that disqualifies a nominee, and I didn't hear anything like then when Nominations (Committee) approved her," Nelson said.

"I didn't hear anything today that convinced me she was unqualified, either."