The US First Gay Governor

Going with a bang…The day he stepped down, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey came out as gay and revealed his adulterous affair with a man. The first and, to date, the only openly gay state governor in US history quit in 2004 as Golan Cipel, his former security aide, had readied a sexual harassment lawsuit against McGreevey. The resignation was the culmination of a political scandal that began when McGreevey appointed Cipel as his lead advisor for homeland security in February 2002 – though Cipel, an Israeli citizen, couldn’t get a federal security clearance. The pair reportedly met in Israel several years earlier. The appointment came under fire as questions were raised about Cipel’s fat pay check and thin credentials. Cipel quit in 2002, after claims the pair had a relationship. He maintained he wasn’t gay and denied the affair. McGreevey – a father of two – later divorced his wife, each having penned a tell-all book about the marriage.