Jimcs50
08-13-2004, 10:04 AM
New Jersey Governor Resigns, Disclosing a Gay Affair
By LAURA MANSNERUS
Published: August 13, 2004
Laura Pedrick for The New York Times
Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation on Thursday, effective on Nov. 15. His wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, and his parents, including his mother, Veronica, were by his side at the State House in Trenton.
RENTON, Aug. 12 - Gov. James E. McGreevey of New Jersey disclosed on Thursday that he was gay and had had an affair with another man, and announced that he would resign on Nov. 15, more than a year before his term would have expired.
In a somber and unexpected announcement, while his wife and parents stood with him, the governor said his decision to step down from office was prompted by the conclusion that the circumstances surrounding the affair would impair his ability to govern.
Aides to the governor, a Democrat, said the affair was with a former aide, Golan Cipel, who was hired by the governor in 2002 as an adviser to the state Office of Homeland Security. He resigned eight months later as a special adviser to the governor, at a salary of $110,000. The aides said Mr. Cipel had threatened to file a lawsuit accusing the governor of sexual harassment.
A federal law enforcement official said Mr. McGreevey's office had called the F.B.I. in New Jersey on Thursday and complained that Mr. Cipel had requested $5 million to quash the suit, which assistants to the governor saw as extortion.
Neither Mr. Cipel, 35, nor his lawyer responded to calls for comment.
The aides said the threat of a suit set off agonizing days for the governor and some of his top advisers, ending on Thursday with Mr. McGreevey's six-minute announcement, which was televised nationally, from his outer office in the State House.
With his wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, by his side, he reflected on a life of tortured identity.
"My truth is that I am a gay American," the 47-year-old governor said, his voice thick at first as he read a statement.
Mr. McGreevey provided no details about the man, including his identity, and no details about their relationship could be learned. He said that he engaged "shamefully" in the adult consensual affair with another man, and said it "violates my bonds of matrimony."
"It was wrong. It was foolish. It was inexcusable," he said.
"Given the circumstances surrounding the affair and its likely impact upon my family and my ability to govern," he said, "I have decided the right course of action is to resign."
The announcement threw New Jersey's political leadership into confusion. Under the New Jersey constitution, the Senate President, Richard J. Codey, will become acting governor upon Mr. McGreevey's resignation; New Jersey has no lieutenant governor. A special election is required only if a governor leaves office fewer than 60 days before the next scheduled election, which this year is Nov. 2. Mr. Codey, a Democrat, will also retain his Senate post.
However, some Republicans called for Mr. McGreevey to step down immediately, raising the possibility that he would not last until Nov. 15.
State Senator Joseph J. Kyrillos Jr., the chairman of the Republican State Committee, said in statement that Mr. McGreevey "should resign now because he can no longer effectively govern the state." But Mr. Kyrillos, like other Republican leaders, expressed sadness and declined to discuss the next governor's race.
Mr. Codey spent much of the day at a hospital in Livingston, where his wife was undergoing surgery. As he left his house in West Orange, shaken but resolute, he said, "New Jersey will be in good hands." He and aides said it was too early to say whether he would seek the governor's office in 2005.
Thursday's announcement followed hours of desperate strategizing among Mr. McGreevey, his top advisers, friends and family members. Aides said the governor changed his mind several times about whether to resign. For most of his term, the governor, who was previously the mayor of Woodbridge, has struggled politically, and the last few weeks have been especially hard for him as a top fund-raiser and his leading contributor have come under federal investigation.
Many Democrats wanted Senator Jon S. Corzine to step in and run for governor next year. In a statement, Mr. Corzine said that "any speculation about my own political plans in light of the governor's decision is entirely premature."
By LAURA MANSNERUS
Published: August 13, 2004
Laura Pedrick for The New York Times
Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation on Thursday, effective on Nov. 15. His wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, and his parents, including his mother, Veronica, were by his side at the State House in Trenton.
RENTON, Aug. 12 - Gov. James E. McGreevey of New Jersey disclosed on Thursday that he was gay and had had an affair with another man, and announced that he would resign on Nov. 15, more than a year before his term would have expired.
In a somber and unexpected announcement, while his wife and parents stood with him, the governor said his decision to step down from office was prompted by the conclusion that the circumstances surrounding the affair would impair his ability to govern.
Aides to the governor, a Democrat, said the affair was with a former aide, Golan Cipel, who was hired by the governor in 2002 as an adviser to the state Office of Homeland Security. He resigned eight months later as a special adviser to the governor, at a salary of $110,000. The aides said Mr. Cipel had threatened to file a lawsuit accusing the governor of sexual harassment.
A federal law enforcement official said Mr. McGreevey's office had called the F.B.I. in New Jersey on Thursday and complained that Mr. Cipel had requested $5 million to quash the suit, which assistants to the governor saw as extortion.
Neither Mr. Cipel, 35, nor his lawyer responded to calls for comment.
The aides said the threat of a suit set off agonizing days for the governor and some of his top advisers, ending on Thursday with Mr. McGreevey's six-minute announcement, which was televised nationally, from his outer office in the State House.
With his wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, by his side, he reflected on a life of tortured identity.
"My truth is that I am a gay American," the 47-year-old governor said, his voice thick at first as he read a statement.
Mr. McGreevey provided no details about the man, including his identity, and no details about their relationship could be learned. He said that he engaged "shamefully" in the adult consensual affair with another man, and said it "violates my bonds of matrimony."
"It was wrong. It was foolish. It was inexcusable," he said.
"Given the circumstances surrounding the affair and its likely impact upon my family and my ability to govern," he said, "I have decided the right course of action is to resign."
The announcement threw New Jersey's political leadership into confusion. Under the New Jersey constitution, the Senate President, Richard J. Codey, will become acting governor upon Mr. McGreevey's resignation; New Jersey has no lieutenant governor. A special election is required only if a governor leaves office fewer than 60 days before the next scheduled election, which this year is Nov. 2. Mr. Codey, a Democrat, will also retain his Senate post.
However, some Republicans called for Mr. McGreevey to step down immediately, raising the possibility that he would not last until Nov. 15.
State Senator Joseph J. Kyrillos Jr., the chairman of the Republican State Committee, said in statement that Mr. McGreevey "should resign now because he can no longer effectively govern the state." But Mr. Kyrillos, like other Republican leaders, expressed sadness and declined to discuss the next governor's race.
Mr. Codey spent much of the day at a hospital in Livingston, where his wife was undergoing surgery. As he left his house in West Orange, shaken but resolute, he said, "New Jersey will be in good hands." He and aides said it was too early to say whether he would seek the governor's office in 2005.
Thursday's announcement followed hours of desperate strategizing among Mr. McGreevey, his top advisers, friends and family members. Aides said the governor changed his mind several times about whether to resign. For most of his term, the governor, who was previously the mayor of Woodbridge, has struggled politically, and the last few weeks have been especially hard for him as a top fund-raiser and his leading contributor have come under federal investigation.
Many Democrats wanted Senator Jon S. Corzine to step in and run for governor next year. In a statement, Mr. Corzine said that "any speculation about my own political plans in light of the governor's decision is entirely premature."