‘A NEW OPPORTUNITY’ — The last time the political world paid much attention to Jim McGreevey was 2004, under dramatically different circumstances — he was coming out as gay and planning to resign as governor of New Jersey. In a speech remembered for the line “I am a gay American,” McGreevey became part of American political lore as the country’s first openly gay governor — in an era when being gay was not as widely accepted as it is today. Now, he’s back, running to be mayor of the state’s second largest city, Jersey City. While McGreevey’s fall is often tied solely to his sexuality, he was involved in a mix of scandal at the time, most notably putting his male lover on the state payroll as a homeland security advisor in the months after 9/11 without proper credentials. In the years since, McGreevey has focused on second chances for himself and for others. He went to seminary. And he’s worked for more than a decade to help prisoners reenter society. The pairing of his religious awakening and reentry work was the subject of a 2013 HBO film by Alexandra Pelosi, the documentary filmmaker who is also Nancy Pelosi’s daughter. It seemed he’d sworn off politics, which he’s compared to an addiction. Until last week, when he asked for a very public second chance of his own. McGreevey’s first campaign ad was titled, fittingly, “Second Chances,” a term that comes with double or triple meanings as the race gets underway. “When my grandparents came from Ireland they were looking for a second chance, a new opportunity,” he says in the ad . “And that’s what, God willing, this campaign is all about – a new opportunity for Jersey City.” Sitting on the Hudson River’s so-called Gold Coast across from Lower Manhattan, Jersey City is one of the bluest cities in one of the state’s bluest counties. It’s also come to symbolize the state’s ethically challenged politics, having been ruled for three decades by the infamous mayor Frank Hague and seeing other elected officials sent to prison or admitting to corruption . At McGreevey’s launch event last week, a solid two years before the mayoral election, religious themes were a major component. In an opening prayer, a local Baptist minister said McGreevey was “preordained” to be mayor of the city and asked God to “shut down” everything that stood in his way. (In an interview, McGreevey, who is Catholic, said he doesn’t believe anything is preordained, except a Democrat winning in Hudson County.) Later, when McGreevey was handed a cup of water, he joked it was holy water. Reentry back into the community was another theme: The campaign launched at a Dominican restaurant run by Candido Ortiz, a former prisoner who President Barack Obama freed and who McGreevey helped find his footing. “He’s the best person that I’ve ever met in life,” Ortiz told reporters. Now the question is whether voters see that side of McGreevey, or the other side as opponents and the media are sure to dredge up scandals past. “This election is not about yesterday, it’s about our tomorrows,” McGreevey told reporters. “And candidly, I have made mistakes in my own life, for which I have apologized and own.” Two decades ago, he said, he was ascending the political ladder, now he’s, in his own words, over the hill and walking toward his grave hoping to finish life with what he called “eulogy virtues.” For years, he’s thought about how he will be remembered. In his 2006 autobiography, he wrote , “History books will all say that I resigned in disgrace. That misses the point entirely. Resigning was the single most important thing I have ever done. Not only was I truthful and integrated for the first time in my life, but I rejected a political solution to my troubles and took the more painful route: penance and atonement.” It’s too soon to say how he will be remembered, but for now, he’s back. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at rrivard@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @RyRivard .
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