Jim McGreevey

McGreevey first ran for governor in 1997, but was defeated in a close race (47% to 46%) by the incumbent Republican Christine Todd Whitman. Libertarian candidate Murray Sabrin received slightly over 5% of the vote.[14] McGreevey ran for the governorship again in 2001 and won with 56% of the vote,[15] making him the first majority-elected governor since James Florio.[16] His Republican opponent in that race was Bret Schundler.[17] Other candidates in the race included William E. Schluter (Independent), Jerry Coleman (Green), Mark Edgerton (Libertarian), Michael Koontz (Conservative), Costantino Rozzo (Socialist) and Kari Sachs (Socialist Workers).[18][19]

After being elected to the governorship by a large margin[20] on November 6, 2001, McGreevey inherited a US$5 billion budget deficit.[21] During his term, McGreevey raised the tax on cigarettes[22] and increased the state income tax for the wealthy.[23] Raised as a Roman Catholic[24] but maintaining a pro-choice stance on abortion,[25] he stated as governor that he would not receive Communion at public church services.[26]

Among McGreevey's accomplishments were auto insurance reform,[27] implementing a stem cell research plan for New Jersey,[28] heavily lobbying for the state's first domestic partnership law for same-sex couples[29] and signing such a law in early 2004.[30]

McGreevey's term was controversial, with questions about the credentials of several of his appointees[31] to pay to play[32][33] and extortion scandals involving backers and key New Jersey Democratic fundraisers, including businessman Charles Kushner.[34][35][36][37]

McGreevey met Golan Cipel in Israel during a trip there in 2000.[38] Cipel relocated to the United States to work for McGreevey's 2001 gubernatorial campaign as a liaison to the Jewish community.[39]

In 2002, following his election as governor, McGreevey appointed Cipel as homeland security adviser at a salary of $110,000.[40] Members of the Legislature questioned the appointment,[41] and the appointment was criticized because Cipel appeared unqualified for the position.[38][40] In addition, Cipel could not obtain a security approval from the federal government, as he was Israeli and not a U.S. citizen; therefore, the FBI and the Secret Service would not provide him with intelligence.[42]

McGreevey in 2007

McGreevey brought up Cipel's name six weeks into his administration in a February 14, 2002, interview with The Record's editorial board at its offices, saying:

We will not skimp on security. We actually brought on a security adviser from the Israel Defense Forces, probably the best in the world.[43]

McGreevey assisted Cipel in obtaining a townhouse near McGreevey's home. Cipel reportedly stated that he needed to live near the governor because his job involved being on call on a 24-hour basis. "According to the Star-Ledger newspaper, McGreevey even accompanied Cipel on a final walk-through of the townhouse, which the real estate agent said she found odd".[44]

In March 2002, Cipel stepped down from his Homeland Security position and was reassigned to an advisor position regarding government operations. In August 2002, Cipel resigned from the McGreevey administration.[45]

Cipel later threatened to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against McGreevey. This threat led to McGreevey's August 2004 resignation from office.[39]

David D'Amiano, a key McGreevey fund-raiser, was ultimately sentenced to two years in prison for extorting $40,000 from a farmer, Mark Halper, a Middlesex County landowner cooperating with investigators. In the 47-page indictment, there are repeated references to the involvement of "State Official 1," later revealed to be McGreevey. In a conversation with Halper, McGreevey used the word "Machiavelli," the code allegedly arranged by D'Amiano intended to assure the farmer that his $40,000 campaign contribution would get him preferential treatment in a dispute over his land.[46]

McGreevey was also involved in facilitating ventures to profit Charles Kushner, a billionaire real estate developer who later went to jail for crimes related to his financial support for the governor and other political figures.[47]

On the afternoon of August 12, 2004, faced with threats from Cipel's lawyer, Allen Lowy, that Cipel would file a sexual harassment lawsuit against him in Mercer County Court,[39] McGreevey held a press conference. At the press conference, he said: "At a point in every person's life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one's soul and decide one's unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it, but as it is. And so my truth is that I am a gay American".[48][49] He also said that he had "engaged in an adult consensual affair with another man" (whom his aides immediately named as Cipel),[50] and that he would resign effective November 15, 2004.[42] New Jersey political circles had speculated about McGreevey's sexual orientation and questions about his relationship with Cipel had been alluded to in the media.[51] McGreevey's announcement made him the first openly gay state governor in United States history.[42] The Star-Ledger won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its "coverage of the resignation of New Jersey's governor after he announced he was gay and confessed to adultery with a male lover."[52] For his part, Cipel later asserted that he was heterosexual[53][54] and denied having had an affair with McGreevey;[55][56][57][53][54] Cipel has contended that McGreevey subjected him to sexual harassment[58][39] and sexual assault[59] and then fired him when his advances were rejected.[60]

McGreevey's decision to delay the effective date of his resignation until after September 3, 2004 avoided a special election in November to replace the governor.[61][62] Doing so allowed the Democratic Party to retain control of the governorship for the rest (until January 2006) of the four-year term. It avoided the prospect of a special election in tandem with the presidential election, which could have resulted in a Republican victory and helped George W. Bush capture New Jersey's electoral votes.[20][63] Bush did not win New Jersey's electoral votes in the 2004 presidential election, but captured 46 percent of the statewide vote, compared to 40 percent in the 2000 race, and did win re-election.

Almost immediately after McGreevey's announcement, New Jersey Republicans and Democrats alike called upon the governor not to wait until November to resign and instead to do so immediately.[64][65] An editorial in The New York Times read, "Mr. McGreevey's strategy to delay resignation does not serve New Jersey residents well. The state will be led by an embattled governor mired in personal and legal problems for three months."[66]

On September 15, U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. dismissed Afran v. McGreevey,[67] filed by Green Party lawyers Bruce Afran and Carl J. Mayer, dismissing their claim that the postponement of McGreevey's resignation had left a vacancy, thereby violating New Jersey residents' voting rights. Brown stated that McGreevey "clearly intends to hold office until November 15, 2004. The requirement of holding a special election does not arise. The rights of registered voters are not being violated."[68][69] Afran re-filed the same suit in Mercer County Superior Court and Judge Linda R. Feinberg heard arguments on October 4, 2004.

Fellow Democrat and New Jersey Senate President Richard Codey took office upon McGreevey's resignation[70] and served the remainder of the term until January 17, 2006.[71] At the time of McGreevey's resignation, the New Jersey State Constitution stipulated that the Senate president retains that position while serving as acting governor.[72] Intense public attention and political pressure directed to the issue of gubernatorial succession in the wake of McGreevey's resignation resulted in a 2006 amendment to the state constitution that created the post of Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.

In September 2006, McGreevey published a memoir, written with assistance from David France as ghostwriter.[73] The memoir was titled The Confession.[74] McGreevey appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 19, 2006, to discuss and promote the book. It was the start of a two-month promotion of his memoir.[75]

In The Confession, McGreevey describes the duality of his life before he came out as gay: "As glorious and meaningful as it would have been to have a loving and sound sexual experience with another man, I knew I'd have to undo my happiness step by step as I began chasing my dream of a public career and the kind of 'acceptable' life that went with it. So, instead, I settled for the detached anonymity of bookstores and rest stops – a compromise, but one that was wholly unfulfilling and morally unsatisfactory."[76][77] McGreevey also included descriptions of his alleged affair with Golan Cipel.[54] In response, Cipel continued to deny that an affair between the two men occurred.[56][54]

Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi and McGreevey at the HBO screening of Fall to Grace in March 2013

McGreevey and his partner Mark O'Donnell regularly attended Saint Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York, in addition to a local parish in New Jersey.[78] At St. Bartholomew's, McGreevey was received into the Episcopal Church on Sunday, April 29, 2007. He was accepted to General Theological Seminary, from which he received the degree of Master of Divinity,[79] a prerequisite to becoming an Episcopal priest.[80][81] In 2009, McGreevey told The New York Times that he volunteered for Exodus Ministries, where he performed service to former prisoners seeking rehabilitation at the Church of Living Hope in Harlem, New York.[82] On November 16, 2009, WCBS-TV reported that McGreevey was continuing his training at All Saints Episcopal Church in Hoboken. An April 2011 report indicated that McGreevey's bid for ordination had been rejected.[79] McGreevey then worked at Integrity House at the Hudson County Correctional Facility with women inmates with a history of drug use.[83]

McGreevey's life after politics, his pursuit of the priesthood, and his ministry to prison inmates are covered in a 2013 HBO documentary film, Fall to Grace, directed by Alexandra Pelosi.[84][85]

After years as an Episcopalian, McGreevey rejoined the Catholic Church; as of 2023, he regularly attended Mass at the Christ the King Catholic Church in Jersey City.[86]

In July 2013, McGreevey was appointed executive director of Jersey City's Employment & Training Program (JCETP).[87][88][89] The program, which provides re-entry coaching for those released from prison, along with other services, such as job opportunities and training, and substance abuse rehabilitation[90][91][92] is based at The Hub in the city's Jackson Hill neighborhood.[93][94] Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop felt as though McGreevey was "a valuable asset"[95] to have in this position relating to his ten-plus years working within the government.[95] Also having first-hand experiences with helping the population of those previously incarcerated by serving as a mentor and spiritual counselor to women at the Hudson County Jail[96] added to his qualifications for the executive director position.[95]

Among those at the September 2014 opening of the facility called Martin's Place[97] (located on the major street of Martin Luther King Drive) were Brendan Byrne, Tom Kean, Steve Fulop, Chris Christie, Robert Menendez, Nancy Pelosi and Cornell William Brooks.[98][99] The prisoner re-entry program, funded by the New Jersey Parole Board with a $4.2 million grant, is located in Sacred Heart Church, also in the neighborhood.[100] The program is a model for a statewide program to be expanded in 2015, initially to four other counties.[101][102]

In January 2019, the board of the JCETP voted to terminate McGreevey's employment.[103] A forensic audit suggested that funds had been inappropriately re-directed to another program, NJ ReEntry. McGreevey claimed that the move was political. McGreevey responded with eight independent audits that found no wrongdoing.[104][105]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey, McGreevey sought to place early-release prisoners, many of whom were homeless, in makeshift shelters.[106]