James McGreevey
James McGreevey
James Edward "Jim" McGreeveyis an American seminarian, politician and member of the Democratic Party, who served as the 52nd Governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1990 to 1992, as the 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...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth6 August 1957
CountryUnited States of America
As a child, recognizing my difference from other kids, I went to the local public library to try to better understand my reality. Back then, many library card catalogues didn't even list 'homosexuality' as a topic.
Throughout my life, I have grappled with my own identity, who I am. As a young child, I often felt ambivalent about myself, in fact, confused.
Being gay is a fundamental part of my being - the core of who I've always been, and the thing that I had repressed and run from all my life.
No relief was forthcoming from my then-Catholic faith, which said the practice of homosexuality was a 'mortal sin' subject to damnation.
I'm on the board of a national group called Faith in America. It's designed to fight religious-based bigotry.
I do not believe that God tortures any person simply for its own sake. I believe that God enables all things to work for the greater good.
I am resigning because my secret leaves the governor's office vulnerable.
But being in the closet uniquely assisted me in politics. From my first run for the state legislature until my election as governor, all too often I was not leading but following my best guess at public opinion.
I realized that I had screwed up my life living different parts of my life in different places. I wasn't whole. I wasn't integrated. I wasn't a complete person. And after that, came out, spent some time at a psychiatric hospital.
I've never been much for self-revelation. In two decades of public life, I always approached the limelight with extreme caution. Not that I kept my personal life off-limits; rather, the personal life I put on display was a blend of fact and fiction.
We need to seek wise leaders who will seek common ground among Americans instead of dividing us further for political gain. As citizens, we must embrace those who embrace ideas, thoughtfulness, civility and kindness to others no matter what their political beliefs.
More than anything else I recall being, or trying very deliberately to be, a perfect child. Not a Goody Two-shoes, but a kid who did good, who worked hard and met every expectation. I strove to achieve in the excessive way that psychotherapists tend to regard with concern.
I have two extraordinary daughters, who, I can say proudly, are doing very well in school and in piano. Daughters are a father's joy.
When I came out publicly, some photo editors had a field day searching for pictures of me with a limp wrist or some other stereotypical gay signifier - as though, after decades in the public eye, they'd suddenly come across a trove of shots where I looked like a Cher impersonator.