# N.J. Governer Jim McGreevey is gay, Resigns. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 12, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589 "2004-08-12T20:43:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/1 "2004-08-12T20:43:43Z")
[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5686618/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5686618/) Holy crap. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/2 "2004-08-12T20:49:13Z")
My apologies. “Holy Crap” isn’t a debate. I just didn’t know where to put this. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/3 "2004-08-12T20:56:03Z")
I don’t think he’s resigning because he’s gay: more likely because of the harrasment allegations being leveled at him. Now, ordinarily, that would mean a fast track to the Supreme Court, but this was with another man. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/4 "2004-08-12T20:58:04Z")
Nothing wrong with being a gay governor in New Jersey. Nothing at all. Not a darn thing. (Sexual harassment however is despicable.) ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/5 "2004-08-12T21:01:27Z")
Harassment? Who did he allegedly harass? I just heard about this, and it sure left me scratching my head. I mean, OK, he’s gay and had an affair. _And_? Sure, it might make reelection tough, but is there any good reason to resign over something like this? Especially NJ, which swings fairly liberal in some parts. Wow indeed. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/6 "2004-08-12T21:06:48Z")
It swings liberal, but there’s also the conservative contigent that seem to dominate the radio airwaves. New Jersey Republicans _hate_ McGreevy. They’re eatin’ this up, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/7 "2004-08-12T21:11:11Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Harassment? Who did he allegedly harass? Read the link… ---
**Author:** ![habs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@habs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/habs)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/8 "2004-08-12T21:14:26Z")
Apparently, there is a threat of a lawsuit being leveled against McGreevey, which probably contributed to the governor’s resignation. That said, McGreevey had a lot of other troubles in his administration, especially in the last few months. A lot of his staff were being investigated for various crimes, such as extortion, bribery, and theft of state money. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/9 "2004-08-12T21:15:40Z")
I’m sure there will be many people trying to get him to reconsider his resignation. After having made this speech, is he legally allowed to change his mind, or is the resignation carved in stone? It’s a shame he can’t simply be an openly-gay governor; he could be a much-needed role model. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/10 "2004-08-12T21:16:50Z")
Speaking of links, if anyone sees a copy of the text of his remarks, please link. I can’t imagine how painful this must be for everyone … wife, kids, etc. He seems to have been stand-up about it. Was this even rumored? ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/11 "2004-08-12T21:21:54Z")
It certainly has been a rumor in Jersey City (where he was from) for quite some time. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/12 "2004-08-12T21:27:08Z")
Yeah, should have done that. I read about it on the NY Times site, and they made no mention on the harassment allegations in the blurb. Curious, as that’d be a fairly salient issue in this story. So, the subtext here seems to be that McGreevey was some kind of sugar-daddy to Cipel, used a high-paying govt. job to thusly provide for Cipel, and now Cipel is bitter? Is Cipel the “other man”? Not up on NJ politics, I’m afraid, below the natl. level, so I don’t have any of the relevant dirt. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/13 "2004-08-12T21:31:06Z")
Next Up: Republican and Democratic presdiential candidate reactions… ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/14 "2004-08-12T21:54:25Z")
My take on this: His career was already over. He’s got scandals piled on top of scandels. He can’t get a day’s work done because of all the other crap he has to answer for. So he comes out, and then resigns. This, in turn, will be spun into “America would never allow a gay man to be Governor”. Whammo – he just became a political martyr for the gay rights cause. Rather clever, if’n you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![habs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@habs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/habs)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/15 "2004-08-12T21:58:37Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Speaking of links, if anyone sees a copy of the text of his remarks, please link. [Full transcript of McGreevey’s resignation speech](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/12/mcgreevey.transcript/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/16 "2004-08-12T21:59:30Z")
There’s a video clip on the msnbc link. He laid it all out there and there ain’t no going back. These are interesting times. > [@panache45](#): > > It’s a shame he can’t simply be an openly-gay governor; he could be a much-needed role model. Not like this. With a wife and kids, sexual harassment allegations, adultery (what a crappy way to treat your family) - what kind of role model is that? . ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/17 "2004-08-12T22:10:20Z")
> [@mack](#): > > Not like this. With a wife and kids, sexual harassment allegations, adultery (what a crappy way to treat your family) - what kind of role model is that? Agreed. If he really were trying to be a martyr for the gay rights movement, as **Hal Briston** suggested, he did a _piss-poor_ job of it. His speech made it sound as if he were resigning because he’s gay, not because he’s been cheating on his wife and is under allegations of harrassment. In an environment where people are saying (with a straight face, no less) that there’s a gay agenda that’s infiltrating the highest levels of governmental power, _and_ that gays are violating the sanctity of marriage, _this_ is the guy we want as a role model? No thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/18 "2004-08-12T22:11:29Z")
So what’s the deal with this Cipel guy? I must admit, on the surface, it does seem to be a pretty bizarre story: Gov. goes to Israel, takes a liking to basically some random fellow he meets, brings him back, pays for his naturalization, gives him a job he has no qualifications for, and when folks raise a stink, keeps him on the payroll (to the tune of $110K a year) as an “advisor” with no specific duties. I gotta say, that looks pretty damn corrupt. I couldn’t give a rat’s turd about who’s diddling who, but the Cipel story is in a whole other ballpark. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/19 "2004-08-12T22:27:32Z")
So . . . who’s the new governor? The linked story doesn’t mention that. I looked on the New Jersey page of [politics1.com](http://politics1.com) ([http://www.politics1.com/nj.htm](http://www.politics1.com/nj.htm)). It says the next gubernatorial election is in 2005 – and, among the state constitutional officers listed, there is no mention of a lieutenant governor. I guess NJ hasn’t got one. So who fills out the governor’s term if he resigns? ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589/20 "2004-08-12T22:32:29Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > So . . . who’s the new governor? The linked story doesn’t mention that. I looked on the New Jersey page of [politics1.com](http://politics1.com) ([http://www.politics1.com/nj.htm](http://www.politics1.com/nj.htm)). It says the next gubernatorial election is in 2005 – and, among the state constitutional officers listed, there is no mention of a lieutenant governor. I guess NJ hasn’t got one. So who fills out the governor’s term if he resigns? According to [www.politicsnj.com](http://www.politicsnj.com) , he will be replaced on November 15th by the President of the New Jersey State Senate, Richard J. Codey. The President of the New Jersey State Senate always becomes Acting Governor when the Governor leaves office early. Mr. Codey will also keep his State Senate duties, due to a fluke in the law. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-j-governer-jim-mcgreevey-is-gay-resigns/259589.md?page=2)