Ex-NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey’s ethics challenged over billboards, civic programs
Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey’s campaign ethics are being questioned by local pols who suggest he’s exploiting the two non-profits he runs to promote his run for Jersey City mayor.
Billboards featuring either McGreevey’s name or face have been popping up around Jersey City since early December, and have become a popular topic of discussion with state Democrats, who suggest the ads may violate campaign finance laws.
Billboards for the Jackie and Ronnie McGreevey Civic Assoc. went up just before Christmas, featuring a picture of McGreevey and his daughter, Jacqueline.
Those came down in the spring, and were replaced with ads for the New Jersey Reentry Corp.‘s annual conference.
McGreevey is pictured alongside the family of Andrew Washington, the disturbed 52-year-old man Jersey City cops fatally shot on Aug. 27, 2023. Washington’s family recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the department.
McGreevey is the NJRC’s executive director, and launched the Jackie and Ronnie McGreevey Civic Association in 2023.
The NJRC provides services to war veterans as well as people being released from incarceration or addiction recovery centers.
“It’s disgusting,” a Jersey City political insider told The Post about appearing in the billboards while running for the city’s highest office.
“People need to know about this behavior,” the insider continued. “He’s got two non-profits and he’s running for mayor. The very obvious problem is that he’s mixing the three.
“Jim still has friends, for whatever that’s worth, and for some reason, they protect him,” the insider added. “If it was anyone else, they’d get calls from the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission or the IRS.”
Another bone of contention is a recent community back-to-school event, sponsored by the Jackie and Ronnie McGreevey Civic Association, that provided donated backpacks and free haircuts to Jersey City children.
Fliers for the event were sent out by email by Rev. Bolivar Flores, the NJRC’s chief of staff. The emails were sent during NJRC work hours.
“Why is NJRC, a state-wide non-profit, funded by [the Department of Community Affairs], only focusing on Jersey City?” the political insider wondered, noting similar events did not happen at the NJRC’s nine other locations across the state, including in Elizabeth, Newark and Paterson.
“Is it because their executive director and chair is running for mayor?”
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission said the billboards fall outside of the commission, since the ads don’t implicitly identify McGreevey as a mayoral candidate.
Seven people are running for Jersey City mayor, and “any one person could win the election,” the insider said. “Jim’s ethics have always been in question. He was known as the governor with the most corrupt administration.”
McGreevey resigned as governor in 2004 — when he was a married dad with two kids — after he famously revealed he was gay and had an extramarital affair with a male staffer.
“I am not at all concerned with what those people [critics] think,” McGreevey told The Post. “My focus is directed toward the people I serve.”
