Governor McGreevey's Surprising Announcement, August 12, 2004

It was late on a Thursday afternoon and I was finishing the exit interview of our department's summer intern at the media buying/planning company I worked at. As we chatted I heard the soft "ping" from my computer indicating incoming mail so I casually glanced at the screen and saw a CNN Breaking News alert (the 21st century's version of "extra, extra read all about it!").

It reported that New Jersey's 47-year old Democratic governor, Jim McGreevey, was stepping down upon revealing at a news conference that "my truth is that I am a gay American". What precipitated this action was his admission that he had been involved in an adulterous affair with his former 36-year male homeland security adviser. The adviser was planning to press sexual harassment charges and the governor's actions were taken to pre-empt this from happening. (The aide, Israeli citizen Golan Cipel, vigorously denied the affair and claimed McGreevey made three advances that were rebuffed.)

After a few years of ugly tabloid headlines about his closeted life (both he and his ex-wife penned books), McGreevey's life has since settled down. He lives with his well-off male partner in the "gay suburb" of Plainfield, New Jersey. After earning a Master of Divinity degree his request to become an ordained priest in the Episcoopal Church was turned down. Presently he works as a counselor at a halfway house in Harlem.