JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Two decades after resigning as governor of New Jersey and stunning the political world by declaring “I’m a gay American,” Jim McGreevey is back on the campaign trail, running for mayor of the state’s second-largest city.
McGreevey, a Democrat, is one of seven candidates in a nonpartisan race to succeed Steven Fulop as mayor of Jersey City, located just across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
He’s running, he said, because he fears the city of his birth is at a “tipping point,” with high-priced downtown high-rises driving up housing costs, juvenile people struggling to find jobs and, in his view, schools performing worse.
“This is not a cathartic exercise,” McGreevey told The Associated Press in an interview before Tuesday’s election. “I did this a long time ago. This happened over 20 years ago. This is to make Jersey City better. Improve services. Balance the budget. Address the needs of the family.”
McGreevey’s opponents include two city council members, a Hudson County commissioner, a city police officer and the former president of the city’s Board of Education. Fulop is not seeking a fourth term.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will take place on December 2nd.
Opponent: I never had to “resign in disgrace”
McGreevey’s resignation is part of New Jersey political lore.
In a televised address on August 12, 2004, in front of his wife and parents, McGreevey said he was quitting because he had had an extramarital affair with another man. With this revelation, he became the country’s first openly gay governor.
The circumstances of McGreevey’s exit were more complicated than his mere coming out. The man McGreevey worked with was Golan Cipel, a former Israeli naval officer whom he appointed as the state’s homeland security adviser in 2002.
Cipel, who met McGreevey in Israel and worked as a Jewish community liaison for his campaign, was not qualified for the $110,000-a-year job, in part because, as an Israeli citizen, he could not obtain the required U.S. security clearances.
Cipel resigned a few months into his term and threatened to sue McGreevey for sexual harassment, which hastened the governor’s resignation. Cipel denied there was an affair and said he was the victim of McGreevey’s “repeated sexual advances.”
Some of McGreevey’s opponents in the mayoral race have argued that his conduct as governor should disqualify him among voters. A rival, City Council member James Solomon, argued that McGreevey’s candidacy was a continuation of corruption that he said was infected during his time as governor.
Another rival, former school board president Mussab Ali, said at a recent debate: “I have never had the experience of having to resign in disgrace.”
“My opponents may be interested in what happened 20 years ago,” McGreevey said. “People in Jersey City today are worried about their rent, they’re worried about their kids’ individual education plans. They’re worried about the street being dirty or there’s a sewer break on Montgomery (Street).”
McGreevey: “That would be a great final act”
Jersey City is where McGreevey’s grandfather moved after leaving Northern Ireland, and where his father took him to eat at the VIP Diner – a time capsule where the payphones still work.
And here the 68-year-old McGreevey, who now runs a nonprofit prison rehabilitation organization, wants to end his once-promising political career managing a city of nearly 303,000 people and a municipal budget of about $700 million.
“That would be a great final act,” said McGreevey, an American flag pin on his lapel. “And frankly, it’s going to take some time for the city to get to the right place.”
McGreevey said he had long ago come to terms with leaving politics. He divorced, attended an Episcopal seminary, earned a Master of Divinity, volunteered at a parish in Harlem and took steps toward becoming a priest before turning to charitable work.
As executive director of the Jersey City-based New Jersey Reentry (*21*), he said he has seen how hard it is for formerly incarcerated people and veterans to find housing and employment.
McGreevey launched his campaign on Halloween 2023 and released a video shortly after he acknowledged his past. The title: “Second chances are of central importance to me.”
His campaign has parallels with another former governor looking for a second chance. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned after being accused of sexual harassment, is running for mayor of neighboring New York City.
McGreevey: “I like people more.” I enjoy politics a lot less.
McGreevey said his absence from public life gave him perspective on how politics has changed and become more polarized.
A former prosecutor and head of the state’s parole board, McGreevey entered politics in 1990 as a member of the state Assembly. Before becoming governor in 2002, he was mayor of Woodbridge Township, a suburb with about 103,000 residents.
“When I was a young representative, we fought hard for the Democrats, but after I was elected, we worked with Democrats and Republicans on committees and on legislation,” McGreevey said. “In my opinion, almost everything today, whether city, state or nation, is viewed through a political lens rather than a governmental lens.”
Twenty years removed have also changed McGreevey, he says.
“I like people more. I enjoy politics a lot less,” he said.
Whether there are enough people like McGreevey and his policies to give him that second chance will become clearer in the coming weeks.
