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because he said his extramarital affair with another man had left the governor's
office 'vulnerable.'
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STEVE WEINSTEIN
Friday, August 13, 2004
NEW YORK — New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey shocked the nation Thursday, Aug.
19, by calling a press conference to admit to an extramarital affair with another
man and abruptly resigning from office, effective Nov. 15.
Speaking in a resolute voice before a phalanx of news cameras, McGreevey,
47, with his second wife by his side, said, "I am a gay American."
Initial media reports indicated that Golan Cipel, a former bodyguard, was
prepared to file a sexual harassment suit against McGreevey. Cipel had been
a highly paid advisor who came under a cloud of controversy.
McGreevey had named Cipel as director of the state's Homeland Security task
force; a $100,000 position that was the highest-ranking state official dealing
with terrorism in a state under threat.
Terrorists had reportedly targeted the Prudential Building in Newark. Many
state residents died in the World Trade Center bombing.
But Cipel couldn't obtain security clearance from the federal government because
he was an Israeli citizen. McGreevey has said that he met Cipel on a trip to
Israel in 2000 and decided to bring him to the United States.
Cipel had worked with Charles Kushner, a developer with close ties to the
governor. Kushner has since been named in a lurid plot to blackmail a relative
and has been indicted for trying to thwart a campaign-finance investigation.
New Jersey lawmakers were angry that Cipel was not subjected to a background
check. When the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee demanded Cipel testify
before them, McGreevey changed his job to "counselor to the governor" with
no specific duties — but retaining his salary. Cipel finally resigned
from state government.
McGreevey, a Democrat, has served in Trenton for two-and-a-half years. McGreevey
had been a suburban mayor when he shot to the statehouse in 2001. He beat Bret
Schundler, mayor of Jersey City, by 15 percentage points.
He has been in the forefront of environmental legislation and has kept taxes
down despite inheriting a large deficit. But he has come under intense criticism
in recent months over scandals from cronies such as Kushner. In recent weeks,
bad news has been washing over the governor's office.
As for gay-rights issues, McGreevey has had a mixed record in office. New Jersey
has been one of the battleground states in the campaign to legalize gay-marriage.
A case brought by seven couples has been wending its way through the court
system.
Advocates were disappointed when McGreevery publicly called upon the state
attorney general to vigorously defend the heterosexual marriage law, in contrast
to neighboring New York, where the attorney general stated his preference for
the courts legalizing gay marriage.
Laura Pople, the president of the New Jersey Lesbian & Gay Coalition,
worked very closely with McGreevey's administration on the statewide domestic-partnership
law, which is less inclusive than gay marriage but does give official state
recognition to gay relationships.
"He pushed it very hard," she said. "In terms of gay marriage,
he did not take the initiative. Advocates would have preferred to see the state
not challenge the same-sex lawsuit, but instead it was fairly aggressively
challenged."
Nevertheless, Pople said she was sympathetic to the governor's plight.
"The coming-out process is incredibly difficult under any circumstance," she
said. "What he's gone through, I can't fathom."
Matt Foreman, the director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, echoed
that sentiment.
"We don't know what prompted today's announcement, but we do know that
the closet is a terrible place to be," he said. "It took a great
deal of courage for the governor to be so honest and straightforward. It's
such a sad day for him, his wife and family."
Alan Van Cappelle, the director of the Empire State Pride Agenda in New York,
added, "This shows what a terrible thing being in the closet is. You lead
double lives, it catches up with you. He did for 47 years."
Van Cappelle went on to cite "broken families, broken careers. We lost
a talented governor," he said. "I hope Americans realize we gain
nothing by keeping a talented governor in the closet. People need to come out.
At one moment, I think it's courageous for him to come out. On the other hand,
it's tragic that it had to happen in these circumstances."
The nation will have its first out-gay governor for three months, however.
McGreevey said in his Trenton announcement that he will not leave office until
mid-November.
Some have speculated that the Kerry campaign may have leaned on the governor
to stay in office past Sept. 3; otherwise, there would have been a special
election, which may have brought out more Republicans to the polls on Election
Day. Although ahead in local polls, Kerry is having to fight for the Garden
State's electoral votes.
As for prior speculation about McGreevey's personal life, a local gay advocate,
who requested anonymity, said there had been rumors circulating about the governor.
Cipel's somewhat curious career aroused some snickers in corridors of the state
capital, said the source.
At the press conference, McGreevey did not mention Cipel or say whether he
would stay married. But Pople and Sully both expressed the hope that he would
become an advocate for gay causes.
"We hope he will become a more active ally," Sully said.
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