Jim McGreevey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim McGreevey
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McGreevey in 2009
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| 52nd Governor of New Jersey | |
| In office January 15, 2002 – November 15, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Codey (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Richard Codey |
| 19th Mayor of Woodbridge Township | |
| In office January 1, 1992 – January 15, 2002 |
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| Preceded by | Joseph DeMarino |
| Succeeded by | Frank Pelzman |
| Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 19th district |
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| In office January 11, 1994 – January 13, 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Randy Corman |
| Succeeded by | Joe Vitale |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 19th district |
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| In office January 9, 1990 – January 14, 1992 Serving with George Otlowski
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| Preceded by | Alan Karcher |
| Succeeded by | Stephen A. Mikulak Ernest L. Oros |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Edward McGreevey
August 6, 1957 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
Kari Schutz
(m. 1991; div. 1997)Dina Matos
(m. 2000; div. 2008) |
| Domestic partner | Mark O'Donnell (Separated) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Catholic University Columbia University (BA) Georgetown University (JD) Harvard University (MEd) General Theological Seminary (MDiv) |
James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004.
McGreevey served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1990 to 1992, as the 19th mayor of Woodbridge Township from 1991 to 2002, and in the New Jersey Senate from 1994 to 1998. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Jersey in 1997, but was narrowly defeated by Republican incumbent Christine Todd Whitman. He ran for governor again in 2001 and was elected by a large margin.
During his gubernatorial tenure, McGreevey—who was then married to Dina Matos—appointed Israeli national Golan Cipel as Counselor to the Governor, advising on homeland security. .....
In 2006, following his departure from public office, McGreevey published a memoir entitled The Confession. He later pursued ordination in the Episcopal Church and obtained a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from General Theological Seminary in New York City; however, the Episcopal Church declined to ordain him and he later returned to the Catholic Church. In July 2013, McGreevey was appointed head of Jersey City's Employment & Training Program (JCETP). He served in that capacity until his 2019 termination. McGreevey serves as Executive Director of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation.
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Early life and education
McGreevey was born in Jersey City, the son of Veronica, a nurse, and Jack McGreevey, a Marine drill instructor who served in World War II and the Korean War. His family was Irish Catholic, and he grew up in nearby Carteret. There he attended St. Joseph Elementary School, and St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. He attended The Catholic University of America before graduating from Columbia University in 1978. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1981 and a master's degree in education from Harvard University in 1982. He also attended a summer diploma program in law at the London School of Economics.
Career
Prior to entering politics, McGreevey was an assistant prosecutor and executive director of the state Parole Board. McGreevey has taught ethics, law and leadership at Kean University in Union, New Jersey.
McGreevey was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 19th Legislative District from 1990 to 1992, when he became Mayor of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. He was re-elected mayor in 1995 and 1999. He was elected to the New Jersey Senate in 1993, simultaneously serving as mayor during the four-year Senate term.
Governorship of New Jersey
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. McGreevey ran for the governorship again in 2001 and won with 56% of the vote, making him the first majority-elected governor since James Florio. His Republican opponent in that race was Bret Schundler. 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).
After being elected to the governorship by a large margin on November 6, 2001, McGreevey inherited a $5 billion budget deficit. During his term, McGreevey raised the tax on cigarettes and increased the state income tax for the wealthy. .....
Among McGreevey's accomplishments were auto insurance reform, restructuring the Division of Motor Vehicles to the Motor Vehicle Commission, signing the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act into law, implementing a stem cell research plan for New Jersey, heavily lobbying for the state's first domestic partnership law for same-sex couples and signing such a law in early 2004.
Resignation
..... 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." He also said that he had "engaged in an adult consensual affair with another man" (whom his aides immediately named as Cipel), and that he would resign effective November 15, 2004. 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. McGreevey's announcement made him the first openly gay state governor in United States history. .....
McGreevey's decision to delay the effective date of his resignation until after September 3, 2004, avoided a special election in November to replace him as governor. Doing so allowed the Democratic Party to retain control of the governorship for the rest of the four-year term, until January 2006. 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. 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. 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."
On September 15, U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. dismissed Afran v. McGreevey, 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." 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 and served the remainder of the term until January 17, 2006. 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. In the wake of McGreevey's resignation, and in consideration of other past New Jersey governors who had left office before the end of their terms, such as Christie Todd Whitman, who had resigned in 2001 when President George W. Bush appointed her to head the EPA, and Governor A. Harry Moore, who resigned in 1935 to serve in the U.S. Senate, voters in New Jersey passed an amendment to the state constitution in 2005 that created the post of Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, effective January 17, 2006. The first election for lieutenant governor was held in 2009.
Post-gubernatorial activities
Memoir
In September 2006, McGreevey published a memoir, written with assistance from David France as ghostwriter. The memoir was titled The Confession. 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. ..... McGreevey also included descriptions of his alleged affair with Golan Cipel. In response, Cipel continued to deny that an affair between the two men occurred.
Divinity studies and community-building
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. 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, a prerequisite to becoming an Episcopal priest. 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. 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. .....
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.
After some 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.
Jersey City Employment & Training Program
In July 2013, McGreevey was appointed executive director of Jersey City's Employment & Training Program (JCETP). ..... Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop stated that McGreevey was "a valuable asset" to have in this position.
Among those at the September 2014 opening of the facility called Martin's Place (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. 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.
In January 2019, the board of the JCETP voted to terminate McGreevey's employment. A forensic audit suggested that funds had been inappropriately re-directed to another program, NJ ReEntry. McGreevey claimed that the move was political and asserted that eight independent audits found no wrongdoing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey, McGreevey sought to place early-release prisoners, many of whom were homeless, in makeshift shelters.
New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC)
McGreevey serves as Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC).
Potential return to politics
In October 2015, McGreevey moved from Plainfield to Jersey City, sparking rumors that he might run for mayor. In 2023, with mayor Steven Fulop retiring to run for governor, McGreevey's name was floated among potential candidates to succeed him, with the Union City mayor and State Senator Brian P. Stack endorsing his potential bid. He filed to run for election on October 31, 2023.
Personal life
McGreevey has a daughter from his first marriage (1991–1997) to Canadian Karen Joan Schutz and another daughter from his second marriage to Portuguese-born Dina Matos. ..... Cipel has denied that an affair between the two men occurred.
Matos and McGreevey separated after he revealed that he is gay, and in late 2005 McGreevey and Australian-American executive Mark O'Donnell began a relationship. The two lived in Plainfield, New Jersey. On March 14, 2007, the Associated Press reported that McGreevey was seeking custody of his younger daughter and filing for child support. Matos demanded $600,000 plus alimony. On August 8, the divorce was granted. McGreevey received joint custody and was directed to pay child support. Matos was denied alimony. In her memoirs, Matos wrote that she would never have married McGreevey if she had known he was gay, nor would she have chosen to have a gay man father her child.
See also
- List of the first LGBT holders of political offices in the United States
