Jim McGreevey

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 amidst a sex scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first openly gay person to serve as a state governor in the nation's history.

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 a Homeland Security advisor. The $110,000-per-year appointment was criticized due to Cipel's lack of qualifications, and Cipel later left McGreevey's staff. On August 12, 2004, following threats of a sexual harassment lawsuit from Cipel, McGreevey publicly acknowledged his homosexuality and stated that he had engaged in an extramarital relationship; he also announced that he would resign the governorship effective November 15, 2004. McGreevey later stated that he had had an affair with Cipel, but Cipel denied this claim.

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 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.^{[clarification needed]} He was a candidate in the 2025 Jersey City mayoral election, losing to James Solomon.

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.

McGreevey has worked as an assistant prosecutor and as executive director of the state Parole Board.

McGreevey was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly. He represented New Jersey's 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. McGreevey was elected to the New Jersey Senate in 1993, simultaneously serving as mayor of Woodbridge during the four-year Senate term.

McGreevey first ran for governor in 1997, but was defeated in a close race (47% to 46%) by incumbent Republican Christine Todd Whitman. Libertarian candidate Murray Sabrin received slightly over 5% of the vote.