HOMOSEXUAL AFFAIR N.J.'s gay governor: Resignation is 'right'

A source said the governor's former lover is blackmailing him.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Gov. James E. McGreevey, a one-time rising Democratic star and twice-married Roman Catholic, announced his resignation with the startling disclosure that he is gay and had an extramarital affair with a man that he said threatened to undermine his "ability to govern."
"My truth is that I am a gay American," McGreevey said Thursday at a news conference with his second wife by his side. He described decades of sexual confusion that dogged him through two marriages and ultimately led him to an act he called "wrong, foolish and inexcusable."
"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," he said, without elaborating on what the circumstances were.
No questions
McGreevey, 47, refused to answer questions. He said, "It makes little difference that as governor I am gay," but added that staying in office and keeping the affair and his sexual orientation secret will leave the governor's office "vulnerable to rumors, false allegations and threats of disclosure."
McGreevey said his resignation would be effective Nov. 15.
Two sources close to McGreevey, both speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man involved in the affair was Golan Cipel, an Israeli poet who met the governor during a trip to Israel.
One source, a senior McGreevey political adviser, said Cipel threatened McGreevey several weeks ago that unless he was paid "millions of dollars," Cipel would file a lawsuit against the governor charging him with sexual harassment.
Cipel could not immediately be reached to comment Thursday. An FBI spokesman did not confirm reports that McGreevey's office called the bureau Thursday to complain about Cipel's asking for money.
Residents shocked
Across New Jersey, people listened to their radios or gathered around TV sets to listen to McGreevey's live news conference. Many were left in shock, though rumors had been circulating for several years that McGreevey was gay.
"It's a shame," said Jim Nerney, 48, of Middletown. "He brought a lot of passion to the governor's office, but the fact is that it's not accepted in today's society and he's paying the consequences."
"His sexual orientation doesn't matter to me. I feel he's done a good job, holding the line on taxes," said Donald Bowman, 52, of Kearny, a school district worker in Newark.
Senate President Richard J. Codey, a Democrat, will become acting governor and serve out the remainder of McGreevey's term, which ends in early 2006. If McGreevey were to leave office before Nov. 15, a special election would be held.
Former Republican Gov. Christie Whitman said McGreevey "made a courageous decision" but criticized his plan to wait until Nov. 15 to leave office, saying it "smacks of politics." She said it "would be in the best interests of the state" for the governor to step aside immediately.
Gay-rights groups expressed support and compassion for McGreevey, but their reactions were tinged with sorrow because McGreevey announced his resignation just as he became the nation's first openly gay governor.
"It is a very sad to thing to watch. It is kind of stunning, sad to me that in 2004 people are still having to struggle because of homophobia in society to come to terms with who they are," said Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal.