Interesting...

[hkellick]

When the mayor of New York City gets caught cheating on his wife, he's not exactly ousted out of office. But when the governor of New Jersey does it, he has to resign?

I'm sorry. I'm not saying cheating on your wife with another man is GOOD. But is it WORSE than cheating on your wife with another woman? I think not.

Edit: Nevermind. I see there was more to this that that he was gay and was having an affair. Check out Washington Post for more details.

Edit^2: OK, I can't help but feel really bad for McGreevey. I mean... if this had happened to any other middle-ager, this would be disasterous enough, but add the pressures of being a governor and being in the spotlight and all. Poor guy. I hope he gets things sorted out before the sharks attack.

Comments

[kareila]

I don't think he *had* to. I think he chose to, for his own conscience and the good of the state. Nobody suspected anything until he made the announcement.

[lite.livejournal.com]

Washington Post suggests differently.

Perhaps he had to, but not necessarily for his conscience so much as to avoid a rather Clinton'esque Scandal.

[dustkitten.livejournal.com]

We knew six months ago.

I doubt Jersey is the only place where a politician is pretending to be straight.

-A-

[lite.livejournal.com]

I deleted that comment. It wasn't fair.

I really do feel bad for the guy. It's bad enough to realize, more than halfway through your life "Hey. I'm gay." but to have the spotlight and all that that goes with being governor on you at the same time?

[dustkitten.livejournal.com]

Freg said that he has the most power of any US governor. Something to do with a lack of lt. governor and choosing..something. I wasn't listening. There was a girlchat last night. :)

Still, getting your lover is a job is w-r-o-n-g, especially when they aren't qualified.

There are those who say that there's a certain mistranslated Bible quotation that says "Don't sleep with a person in a position of power over you."

Works for me.


-A-

[lite.livejournal.com]

I can't say I see Freg's point here. In terms of population, richness of state or wherever, I can't imagine McGreevey has anything on a state like California or possibly Washington.

And I agree.. getting your love a job is wrong UNLESS he or she really WAS the most qualified person for it. In this case, the lover wasn't even qualified at all, but in that special situation, maybe it isn't wrong.

I dunno about sleeping with someone over you being in the Bible, but in general, it seems like common sense anyways. Just don't get into that position. It's part of why I'm glad Kristen and I work for two different non-related companies.

[dustkitten.livejournal.com]

Uh..Freg is 100% right:

The New Jersey Governor appoints (with the approval of the State Senate):
Attorney General
Secretary of State
State Treasurer
Commissioners of the Departments of Agriculture, Banking and Insurance, Commerce, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Environmental Protection, Health and Senior Services, Human Services, Labor, Military and Veterans Affairs, Personnel, and Transportation
Judges (including the State Supreme Court)
County Prosecutors
County Boards of Election and Taxation
Members of Boards and Commissions

Let's compare this to the governor of Texas:

The constitutional and statutory duties of the Governor include:

Signing or vetoing bills passed by the Legislature.
Serving as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.
Convening special sessions of the Legislature for specific purposes.
Delivering a report on the condition of the state to the Legislature at the beginning of each regular session.
Estimating of the amounts of money required to be raised by taxation.
Accounting for all public moneys received and paid out by him and recommending a budget for the next two years.
Granting reprieves and commutations of punishment and pardons upon the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and revoking conditional pardons.
Declaring special elections to fill vacancies in certain elected offices.
Appointing qualified Texans to state offices that carry out the laws and direct the policies of state government. Some of these offices are filled by appointment only. Others are ordinarily elected by the people, but the Governor must occasionally appoint individuals to fill vacancies in those offices. The Governor also appoints Texans to a wide range of advisory bodies and task forces that assist him with specific issues.

Now, since you brought it up, CA:

The Governor has wide latitude in the planning, organization and direction of the activities of a large number of state departments and agencies. The responsibilities of the office call for a broad knowledge of many subjects and an ability to deal with the problems of all Californians with patience, understanding and sympathy. As California's senior statewide elected official, the Governor endeavors to set the direction of state government policies and actions that will determine the quality and pace of California's progress.

In addition to strictly executive functions, the Governor has an important place in the state's legislative process. At the beginning of each session of the Legislature the Governor presents a message - traditionally termed the "State-of the-State Address" - to the members, outlining the conditions of the state and recommending a program of legislative action. The Governor also submits to the Legislature the annual budget and sets forth statements of the state government's anticipated revenues and expenses.

The California Constitution defines specific responsibilities for the Governor which include the duty as Commander in Chief of the state military establishment, the powers of executive and judicial appointments, and the power to grant reprieves, commutations of sentence and pardons to those convicted in the courts of California. The Governor is not empowered to grant reprieves, commutations or pardons in the case of impeachment and conviction by the Legislature.

All bills enacted by the Legislature are subject to the Governor's approval before becoming law. The Governor has the power to veto bills and this veto can be set aside only by a two-thirds vote of both the Assembly and the State Senate. The Governor may exercise selective veto powers over appropriation bills to reduce or eliminate any items of appropriation while approving other items covered in the same bill. This is commonly called the "line-item veto."

Those seem like different responsibilities to me..

[dustkitten.livejournal.com]

That explains how Christine Todd-Whitman got anywhere...

-A-

[lite.livejournal.com]

I was thinking on a national scale, not on a local scale.
I stand corrected.

[kareila]

I'll take your word for it. :) The thing I saw on the news last night called it a "bombshell", implying it was unexpected. I guess they meant the resignation and not the affair itself.

To Howard: the sharks have already started attacking. The Republicans want him to resign effective immediately, not in November, so they can run in a special election.

[lite.livejournal.com]

Maybe it was a bombshell to those of us not living in jersey? Personally, I had no idea. And I have, at the least, been reading the Washington Post off and on.

Re: The Sharks. Yeah, I'm not surprised :P I have to admit the resignation starting at such and such a date did sound a little.. random. I'm curious why he picked the date he did. I'm not sure an actual special election isn't uncalled for. On the other hand, if it did happen, it'd probably be as much as the California Special Election which really WAS a bad joke :p

[dustkitten.livejournal.com]

Maybe I just have an ear to the Gay Underground.

-A-

[lite.livejournal.com]

Maybe.

My only point was that I'd never heard of it before today. By the sounds of it, it WAS a bombshell to most of the rest of us that he was gay. At least that's how I'm reading the articles in the post.

[dustkitten.livejournal.com]

Has Mrs McCheesy made any statement? If even *I* knew the guy was gay, are we to believe she had no clue. If so, it is still TRULY an affair? Are you "cheating" on someone if they're aware of your sexual orientation and lovers?

-A-

[lite.livejournal.com]

I would say.. yes. Definately still cheating.

I have no idea if Mrs. McCheesy?!?! (hee) has made a statement.

[dustkitten.livejournal.com]

He was called Mayor McCheesy by local radio guys aaaages ago. (Obviously, cuz he'd just been elected mayor then.)

-A-

[phoenixsong]

Well, unless it was consensual. IF she agreed to basically an open marriage situation once she found out he was gay (and admittedly that's a big if for the wife of a politican)...cheating is in the eye of the beholder. It's her call to make, not anyone else's.

[lite.livejournal.com]

This is true. By the sounds of it, however, that was not the case. It could be an elaborate ruse to sort of save face, but at this moment, I doubt it.

[phoenixsong]

*hasn't read enough outside of LJ to try to call that*

That aside, it's still her place to call it cheating or not. Though it would also be good if he could honestly face it himself, too.

[lwoodbloo.livejournal.com]

C'mon now. Read about the corruption investigation involving the guv'nor in the local rags, man. This ain't about him being gay. This is about him giving a job, a homeland security job, to his lover. Man or woman. And worse! He can't hold a security clearance because he's a foreign national! In my opinion, McGreevey being gay is the least of the issues here. Why do we keep bringing it up?

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

I think this had to do with a lot more than just McGreevey being gay. His governorship has been full of scandals. When I first heard that he was going to resign, I didn't think it had anything to do with his sexual orientation, I thought it had to do with the campaign finances scandel (the most recent one).

I think McGreevey thought this was the best thing for him to do (by resigning now before the sexual misconduct lawsuit was filed against him he escapes all of the speculation that would follow the lawsuit). Also, by resigning as soon as possible (but in November), he lets his party keep the office, and gives the new governor a chance in the position. That way they new guy stands a chance of getting re-elected.

I don't think the resignation has much to do about him being gay ay all. He was very blunt in explaining his sexual orientation. I do think that the result of everything that's coming down on him right now is going to be consuming. It probably is the right decision for him to resign, because who could keep functioning as the governor when going through so much personal turmoil.

I feel really badly for McGreevey and his family. I can only imagine how his daughters might feel with everything coming out this way. However, there's no question that he's done inappropriate things, not just personally, but as the governor.