Photo by Adrienne J. Romero / SOC Images.
Jim McGreevey’s grandparents came to the United States from Ireland in the early 1900s.
When passing by the Statue of Liberty on the Upper New York Bay, his grandmother let out a sigh of relief and thought, “I knew we were going to be okay.”
McGreevey said those words still make him “choke up” to this day.
The former New Jersey governor told Slice of Culture that he believes in second chances; whether it be for families, individuals with troubled pasts or even himself. McGreevey, 66, once faced adversity when he stepped down from state governor in the early 2000s, but is now returning to the political landscape and is campaigning to serve as mayor in the city he was born in: Jersey City.
“I think Jersey City is an exciting place. I think there’s been a lot of interesting opportunities. For me personally, my grandparents came to Jersey City from Ireland. They built a life here. My parents grew up here, and were married at St. Patrick’s… We’ve got real roots here,” he said.
“But I also see challenges; part of the city where things may be working, but I also see another Jersey City where I’m concerned about… I think [I have] valuable experience and expertise that I can bring to this job.”
Earlier last year, current Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop announced his intention to run for New Jersey Governor. This opened the door for McGreevey including other formally declared candidates Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea, former Jersey City Board of Education President Mussab Ali and city Council President Joyce Watterman.
From Jersey City To New Jersey’s Politics
Though McGreevey was not raised in Jersey City, he affirmed that he does have sentimental ties to the city.
His mother was a nurse at the Jersey City Medical Center and his father, a World War II and Korean War veteran, worked on the railroad. Growing up, his mother lived on Clark Street in the Greenville section of the city while his father grew up in the Lafayette area on Lafayette Street, right by Monumental Baptist Church. McGreevey also noted that his grandfather served as a Jersey City police officer.
But McGreevey didn’t grow up in the Hudson County town like his family. Instead, he moved to Carteret where he would grow up–roughly 30 minutes south–which was a decision made by his parents. He emphasized that he didn’t make the choice to leave Jersey City.
“When I left, I didn’t have a decision. I was [a] little Jimmy McGreevey and Jack and Ronnie McGreevey made the decision…like you go where your parents tell you to go,” he explained.
McGreevey, who was raised as an Irish Catholic, attended St. Joseph Catholic School in Carteret and went on to St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. From there, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a law degree from Georgetown University and a master’s in education from Harvard University.
McGreevey eventually became known within the state as he had a number of roles within New Jersey.
He was an assistant prosecutor and executive director of the New Jersey Parole Board and was also elected to State Assembly in 1989, serving as such from 1990 to 1991. In 1991, he became the mayor of Woodbridge–and was re-elected in 1995 and 1999–where he “revitalized” the town’s downtown business district and put more police on the streets, which reportedly cut down crime by “nearly 40 percent,” according to an archived article from Ability Magazine.
Simultaneously, from 1994 to 1997, McGreevey was part of the state senate, representing the 19th district, which covers Middlesex County and includes municipalities like Carteret and Woodbridge. He advocated and helped establish a law that requires insurers to pay for mammograms, which is used to check for breast cancer. State Senators assist in legislation, overseeing federal budgets and work with the governor.
In 1997, he campaigned for the state governor seat, but fell short. A few years later in 2001, he captured the victory.
With his new position, McGreevey decreased state auto insurance rates; signed legislation to establish the nation’s first state-supported stem cell research facility to learn about diseases and treatments; and signed the Domestic Partnership Act in January 2004, which allowed gay couples to have the same financial and legal benefits as married couples.
But, as governor, the New Jersey native was also met with controversy.
McGreevey appointed Golan Cipel, an Israeli citizen and veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces, as counselor to the governor and then homeland security advisor–both of which were met with criticisms claiming that Cipel was not qualified. Cipel resigned in 2002 and McGreevey subsequently resigned in 2004, nationally coming out as a “gay American” and admitting to engaging in “an adult consensual affair with another man,” which Cipel rebutted. McGreevey detailed the events in a descriptive 2006 article in New York Magazine and submitted a recent piece to The Jersey Journal.
Now, it’s been 20 years since McGreevey held a political position.
He’s been working to give individuals second chances and opportunities through his New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC), a non-profit agency that advocates to remove barriers to employment–especially for the previously incarcerated and substance abusers–through treatments, housing, training and other services.
In 2013, a film called “Fall to Grace” by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the U.S. House of Reps, earned a spot at the Sundance Film Festival. The film focused on McGreevey’s then-role as a spiritual counselor at the Hudson County Correctional Center and told the stories of McGreevey along with three women he counseled. The title stems from the ex-governor’s 2004 scandal.
“It was my own fall to grace and working with offenders in Harlem and at Hudson that has changed my vision and my understanding of what prison should be,” he told AP in 2013. “Incarceration as we practice it in America is an abysmal failure.”
Fast forward roughly 10 years later, McGreevey continued to acknowledge his past in his kick-off campaign for Jersey City mayor.
“This election isn’t about yesterday or my yesterday. This election is about our tomorrow and our future. And clearly, I’ve made mistakes in my life and for which, you know, I’ve acknowledged and I apologize. But I also think, God willing, that I can give something back,” McGreevey said at the event.
“… When my grandparents came from Ireland, they were looking for a second chance, a new opportunity. And that’s what, God willing, this campaign is all about, is a new opportunity for Jersey City,” he added in a campaign video.
McGreevey’s Promise
When asked about locals being concerned that he moved away, McGreevey stressed that what’s important is that he returned. He now lives on the West Side of Jersey City, near where his grandmother rests at Holy Name Cemetery, and attends Christ the King Catholic Church on Ocean Avenue.
Just last month, McGreevey began “listening” tours around Jersey City, visiting the city’s different wards to meet and talk with the people of the community. He told Slice of Culture that Jersey City’s community members who typically feel neglected “won’t feel neglected with me.”
“In terms of second chances, I see so many young men and young women that… Some of ’em never had a first chance. They didn’t have the ability to maybe be the best school. They didn’t have the ability to maybe access computer programming. They didn’t have the ability to go into HVAC or to go into general construction or to go into computer programming. That’s what we do at [NJRC]. I wanna save them,” he added.
“I want to be in that community…I wanna be working with them. I’m gonna be worse than their worst nightmare [laughs], because part of it is if you care and you care deeply, you’re not telling people what they want to hear. You’re telling people what they need to hear.”
McGreevey spoke on a number of topics including property taxes, affordable housing, schools and preserving the city’s diverse culture.
“I would just like to say to the people of Jersey City [that] for me, this is a choice. This is a decision, God willing, that whatever skills that I have, whatever abilities that I have, I will work my heart [and] my head for Jersey City. I will give the full measure of my being to make sure it’s a city that works,” he said.
“I want to be the mayor that’s accountable to you. And I do this because of my passion. I do this because I actually think I’m pretty good at it. But I do this, God willing, because I wanna make this the best possible city for our families and for our children, for our neighbors, for our community.”
