[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: The Governor's Secret

[michael at intrafi.com]

The article below from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by michael at intrafi.com.



/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\

GARDEN STATE: NOW PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS

GARDEN STATE stars Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard
and Ian Holm.  NEWSWEEK's David Ansen says "Writer-Director Zach
Braff has a genuine filmmaker's eye and is loaded with talent."
Watch the teaser trailer that has all of America buzzing and
talk back with Zach Braff on the Garden State Blog at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/gardenstate/index_nyt.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/


The Governor's Secret

August 13, 2004
 


 

Sooner or later, it was bound to happen: a major elected
official's calling a press conference to tell constituents
that he or she is gay. Yesterday, New Jersey's governor,
James McGreevey, described his coming to grips with his
sexual orientation with uncommon grace and dignity,
offering an extraordinary glimpse into the private torment
that can accompany a public life lived in the closet. "My
truth is that I am a gay American,'' he said. If that had
been the beginning and the end of the story, we would be
celebrating Mr. McGreevey's candor, not assessing his
resignation. But the story - like Mr. McGreevey's statement
- was incomplete. 

The governor's announcement was reportedly driven by the
threat of a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former aide,
Golan Cipel. Mr. McGreevey, who has two children from his
two marriages and whose wife stood next to him during his
press conference, acknowledged that he had committed
adultery with another man. He did not say that the man in
question had worked for his administration. 

Gay or straight, that kind of relationship raises troubling
questions, apart from the issue of whether it was
consensual. Mr. Cipel was originally appointed as the
governor's homeland security adviser, a job for which he
had no discernable qualifications. If Mr. McGreevey put
someone in that critical post because of a personal
relationship, that would be an outrage, regardless of his
sexual orientation. 

The timing of the governor's coming out was apparently
driven by the potential lawsuit, and the timing of his
resignation - Nov. 15 - was driven by a desire to avoid an
interim election. As it stands, the State Senate president,
Richard Codey, another Democrat, will inherit the executive
office until the end of 2005. While the mechanics of trying
to hold gubernatorial primaries and an election this year
would be daunting, Mr. McGreevey's strategy doesn't serve
New Jersey residents well. The state will be led by an
embattled governor mired in personal and legal problems for
three months. Then, because of the peculiarities of New
Jersey's Constitution, Mr. Codey will simultaneously lead
the Senate and the executive branch - an enormous amount of
power for someone whose voter mandate comes only from a
State Senate district in Essex County. 

Mr. McGreevey's governorship has, in a way, been similar to
his dramatic performance yesterday. His goals were noble,
and some of his accomplishments laudable - like the
millionaire's tax he pushed through as a partial solution
to the problem of the state's huge deficit, and his efforts
to protect critically important watershed areas. But the
story has always been marred by ethical questions swirling
around his office. 

The cast of characters is long, and the details unsavory.
They include a trash hauler and fund-raiser charged in a
scheme to extort money from a farmer, and another
fund-raiser who is accused of using a prostitute to try to
silence a witness in a federal investigation. The governor,
tape-recorded without his knowledge in a private meeting,
was linked to one scandal when he uttered the word
"Machiavelli," which prosecutors claimed was a code word.
He has maintained that the use of the word was a
coincidence. 

In the murky politics surrounding him, being gay may be the
least complicated issue Mr. McGreevey could address - and
that may explain why he did not delve into the other
troubles in his speech. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/13/opinion/13fri1.html?ex=1093415519&ei=1&en=54743fbb1c7c0770


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters 
or other creative advertising opportunities with The 
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales at nytimes.com or visit our online media 
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to 
help at nytimes.com.  

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company