See that's what I would hope wouldn't happen. Basing your opposition to a man's recognition for a job well done based on the fact that you had been turned down for the same award yourself two times is just petty at best. If this is a reason for his opposition it would be a new low for even him.
I believe we aren't connecting on this and because I'm admittedly not well versed on the topic, I'll take responsibility.
Many times in corporate life I've seen where the average performer under an excellent manager might grade out as superior under an inexperienced/mediocre/weak manager.
The two managers use the same evaluation template provided by human resources yet, no matter how impartial they try to be, the way they interpret the criteria is vastly different based on the sum total of their individual experiences.
Having said all of that, if someone believes they work in an environment characterized by an objective meritocracy where the relationship between effort and reward is highly correlated across the organization, please let me know where I can submit a resume.