NJ Governor McGreevey resigns

[Patti]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5686618/

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation Thursday afternoon, saying he had had an extramarital affair with another man that could leave the state government vulnerable to undue outside influences.

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“My truth is that I am a gay American,” McGreevey, a former prosecutor who has seen several political aides and fund-raisers accused of corruption, said at a televised news conference.

“Shamefully, I engaged in adult consensual affairs with another man, which violates my bonds of matrimony,” said McGreevey, the married father of two. “It was wrong. It was foolish. It was inexecusable.”

McGreevey said the disclosure and a pending legal action, which he did not specify, could pose a “threat” to the government. “I am removing these threats by telling you about my sexuality,” he said.

The resignation is effective Nov. 15, McGreevey said. State Senate President Richard Codey will serve the rest of his term, which ends at the end of next year.

WABC-TV of New York reported that McGreevey was expecting a lawsuit by a former aide Monday accusing him of sexual harassment. The station identified the former aide as Golan Cipel, who resigned as McGreevey’s security adviser in 2002 after months of questioning about his credentials and job qualifications.

Cipel, 33, was criticized because he did not have a security clearance or law enforcement background. He had worked in television news and public relations.

A former Israeli sailor and a published poet, Cipel worked as a spokesman for the Israeli Consulate in New York. During McGreevey’s gubernatorial campaign, Cipel was McGreevey’s liaison to the Jewish community and served as an informal adviser on security matters.

Veteran New Jersey politician
McGreevey, the state’s 51st governor, took office 2½ years ago, and, despite inheriting a $5 billion budget deficit, he steadfastly refused to boost income taxes for most New Jerseyans, instead raising taxes on millionaires, casinos and cigarettes.

McGreevey, a Democrat, rose from suburban mayor to state chief executive by his tenacious pursuit of party politics, maintaining a power base even after he narrowly lost to Republican Christine Todd Whitman in 1997.

McGreevey never truly stopped that campaign until he won in November 2001, beating Republican Bret Schundler by 15 percentage points.

McGreevey, who was born in Jersey City, graduated from Columbia University in 1978. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1981 and a master’s degree in education from Harvard University a year later.

After briefly serving as a county prosecutor, McGreevey became a lobbyist for a pharmaceutical company and then a state government official. While in the Legislature, he voted for Gov. Jim Florio’s $2.8 billion tax hike, which prompted a voter rebellion against Democrats.

By MSNBC.com’s Alex Johnson. The Associated Press contributed to this report.