Ten years after he announced that he's
a “gay American” and would resign from office as New Jersey
governor, Jim McGreevey says he wishes he had found a more direct
path to coming out.
On August 12, 2004, McGreevey, now 57,
delivered a resignation speech with his second wife at his side.
“[M]y truth is that I am a gay
American,” he said. “And I am blessed to live in the greatest
nation with the tradition of civil liberties, the greatest tradition
of civil liberties in the world, in a country which provides so much
to its people.”
“Given the circumstances surrounding
the affair and its likely impact upon my family and my ability to
govern, I have decided the right course of action is to resign.”
The scandal that was McGreevey's
undoing involved his attempt to appoint a seemingly unqualified young
man to be his to homeland security adviser. McGreevey later admitted
that he had an affair with the man, Golan Ciper.
During the intervening 3 months before
he left office, McGreevey served as the nation's first – and so far
only – openly gay governor.
Today, McGreevey is the executive
director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program, which
helps those getting out of prison with work and housing.
McGreevey told the
AP that his life with partner Mark O'Donnell was an honest one.
“I can only wish that I had found
this path more directly,” he said.