JERSEY CITY, N.J. — In a surprising political comeback, Jim McGreevey, who made headlines two decades ago by resigning as New Jersey’s governor while declaring, “I am a gay American,” is once again on the campaign trail. This time, McGreevey is vying for the position of mayor in Jersey City, the state’s second-largest city.

As a Democrat, McGreevey enters a crowded, nonpartisan race with six other candidates, all aiming to succeed Steven Fulop as mayor. Jersey City, located just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, awaits new leadership with Fulop not pursuing a fourth term.

McGreevey’s campaign is driven by concerns over what he describes as a “tipping point” for his hometown. He highlights issues such as the rising costs of housing due to luxury high-rises downtown, employment challenges for young residents, and schools that he believes are not meeting performance expectations.

In an interview with The Associated Press before Tuesday’s election, McGreevey stressed, “This is not a cathartic exercise. I resolved those personal matters over 20 years ago. My focus now is on enhancing Jersey City, improving city services, achieving a balanced budget, and addressing the needs of families.”

His competition includes two city council members, a county commissioner from Hudson County, a city police officer, and the former president of the city’s board of education. The race promises to be a pivotal moment for Jersey City’s future.

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held Dec. 2.

Opponent: I never had to ‘resign in disgrace’

McGreevey’s resignation is etched in New Jersey political lore.

In a televised speech on Aug. 12, 2004, McGreevey said, as his wife and parents looked on, that he was quitting because he had engaged in an extramarital affair with another man. With that revelation, he became the country’s first openly gay governor.

The circumstances of McGreevey’s exit were more complicated than his merely coming out. The man McGreevey had been involved with was Golan Cipel, a former Israeli naval officer he had appointed as the state’s homeland security adviser in 2002.

Cipel, who met McGreevey in Israel and worked for his campaign as a Jewish community liaison, was not qualified for the $110,000-per-year position, in part because, as an Israeli citizen, he couldn’t obtain the necessary U.S. security clearances.

Cipel quit a few months into his tenure and threatened to sue McGreevey for sexual harassment, hastening the governor’s resignation. Cipel has denied that any affair occurred, saying he was the victim of McGreevey’s “repeated sexual advances.”

Some of McGreevey’s opponents in the mayoral race have argued that his conduct as governor should disqualify him with voters. One rival, city council member James Solomon, argued that McGreevey’s run is an extension of corruption that he claimed infected his time as governor.

Another rival, former school board president Mussab Ali, said at a recent debate: “I have never had the experience of having to resign in disgrace.”

“My opponents may care about what happened 20 years ago,” McGreevey said. “Folks in Jersey City are worried about their rent today, worried about the children’s individual education plan today. They’re concerned about the fact that the street is dirty or that there’s a sewer break on Montgomery (Street).”

McGreevey: ‘This would be a great closing act’

Jersey City is where McGreevey’s grandfather moved after leaving Northern Ireland, and where his father took him for meals at the VIP Diner — a time capsule where the pay phones still work.

And it’s where McGreevey, 68, who now runs a prison reentry nonprofit, would like to finish his once-promising political career by managing a city of nearly 303,000 residents with a municipal budget of about $700 million.

“This would be a great closing act,” McGreevey said, an American flag pin on his lapel. “And candidly, to get the city in the right place, it’ll require some time.”

McGreevey said he’d long ago made peace with being out of politics. He got divorced, attended an Episcopal seminary, earned a Master of Divinity degree, volunteered at a Harlem ministry and took steps to become a priest before pivoting to nonprofit work.

As executive director of the Jersey City-based New Jersey Reentry Corporation, he said he has seen the difficulty formerly incarcerated people and veterans have finding housing and employment.

McGreevey launched his campaign on Halloween in 2023 and posted a video soon after acknowledging his past. The title: “Second chances are central to who I am.”

His run has drawn parallels to another ex-governor looking for a second chance. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned after being accused of sexual harassment, is running for mayor of neighboring New York City.

McGreevey: ‘I enjoy people more. I enjoy politics a lot less’

McGreevey said his absence from public life has given him a perspective on how politics has changed and become more polarized.

A former prosecutor and head of the state parole board, McGreevey entered politics in 1990 as a member of the state assembly. Before becoming governor in 2002, he was mayor of Woodbridge Township, a suburb of about 103,000 residents.

“When I was a young Assemblyman, we would campaign hard on the Democratic ticket, but then, after I was elected, you would work with Democrats and Republicans on committees, on legislation,” McGreevey said. “My sense is today, whether it’s the city or the state or the nation, almost everything is viewed through a political lens as opposed to a governmental lens.”

Twenty years away has also changed McGreevey, he says.

“I enjoy people more. I enjoy politics a lot less,” he said.

Whether enough people like McGreevey and his politics enough to give him that second chance will become clearer in the weeks ahead.