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    Jim McGreevey, Who Quit Politics Amid Scandal, Eyes a New Job: Mayor

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    Jim McGreevey, New Jersey’s 52nd governor, resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair with a male employee. Now he is preparing for a political comeback.James E. McGreevey, a former New Jersey governor who resigned two decades ago in scandal, has built his career on reinvention. So much so that when he enters a classroom filled with newly freed felons hoping to make the most of their own second chance, they are not sure what to call him.“Governor!” the instructor bellows.“Jim — come on, guys — it’s just Jim!” he counters affably as he fist-bumps several men enrolled in a post-prison career training program he founded and now leads as executive director.Mr. McGreevey, 66, has tried on other titles since he quit politics in 2004 after announcing to his second wife and to the world that he was gay and had had an affair with a man who worked for him.Mr. McGreevey resigned as governor in 2004 after admitting he had had an extramarital affair with a man who worked for him.Associated PressHe published a book, “The Confession,” and starred in a documentary produced by Alexandra Pelosi, a daughter of the former House speaker. He earned a master’s degree in divinity. He had hoped to be ordained an Episcopal priest, but amid the fallout of his bitter divorce the church turned him down.And now Mr. McGreevey, a Democrat who once was thought to have the White House in his sights, is making plans to do what he had said he would not: re-enter politics.Over the past several months, Mr. McGreevey has begun cobbling together support for an expected run for mayor of Jersey City, the state’s second-largest city, where he has lived for eight years.Minutes from New York and teeming with progressive newcomers, Jersey City enjoys a prominent place in regional lore, filled with immigrants, innovation and working-class brio. But it is also 63 miles away from the State House and its attendant power and trappings.Mr. McGreevey, who was born in Jersey City, says he has no problem with the perceived downgrade in prestige.“Being governor is so much about the budget, the dollar,” he reasoned during an interview at the job training center in Kearny, N.J., run by his current employer, the New Jersey Reentry Corporation. “Being mayor is about building strong communities.”He added, “It’s also a worthy place to put my energies, to hopefully do some good.”He expects to make a final decision before Thanksgiving.“I’m getting closer to making that decision in the affirmative,” he said.At least three other Jersey City Democratic leaders are also seriously considering vying for the job. The current mayor, Steven Fulop, who is running for governor, does not intend to run for re-election. But the contest is not until November 2025, setting up a two-year runway in which anything might happen.“I could be dead by then,” said Gerald McCann, 73, a former Jersey City mayor now advising Mr. McGreevey.Still, few would dispute that Mr. McGreevey is winning the race for buzz and institutional support among key power brokers in Hudson County.Nine of the county’s 12 mayors have publicly endorsed his candidacy. A recent fund-raiser for a nonprofit civic organization named for his parents, who, he stressed, were raised in Jersey City, drew labor leaders and local and state officials. And on Saturday he is convening the first of what he calls “listening sessions.”On a recent morning, he wandered the halls of the training center with the confidence of a school principal and the lively gait of a St. Patrick’s Day parade grand marshal. He was eager to discuss the state-funded program in minute detail, including the 268,402 pounds of food it has provided this year to clients, the role of the on-site chaplain and the facility’s free medical and dental services.His phone rang during the interview, and he answered it cheerfully. It was a young detainee at a state psychiatric facility who had been assigned to him as part of the client caseload he maintains, even as executive director. He listened patiently and asked if the man had read the book he shared, “Band of Brothers.”It is his work with current and former prisoners and the insight it has offered about their lack of educational and workplace preparedness, and the realities of the impoverished communities they return home to, that most guides his current ambition, he said.“My sense is Jersey City is at a tipping point, and it ought to be affordable for those families that have lived in the city for three or four generations,” he said.“I had a second chance, too,” Mr. McGreevey told students enrolled in a career training program at the New Jersey Re-entry Corporation. “We believe in a God of second chances.”Bryan Anselm for The New York TimesFans of Mr. McGreevey’s candidacy cite his decades of government experience. Before being elected governor, he was an assemblyman, state senator and mayor of Woodbridge, a sprawling suburban township in central New Jersey.Mr. McGreevey’s 21-year-old daughter, Jacqueline, who, with her older half sister, Morag, grew up in the shadow of their father’s spectacular crash-landing from politics, said part of her wishes he would remain out of the limelight.“I genuinely think that he would do a lot of good for a lot of people,” she said between classes at Barnard College, “so it feels kind of selfish to not want him to pursue it.”“My dad always says, ‘Do the next right thing,’ ” she said, “whether it means study for the next test or help the next person.”“This seems to be kind of a natural progression of where he’s been,” she added, “and what he wants to do.”Whatever happens, Mr. McGreevey said he does not see the job as a steppingstone.“I’m walking down the hill,” he said. “This is it.”Jersey City’s mayoral elections are nonpartisan, a detail that diminishes the ability of county political bosses to design the ballot to all but guarantee a win for their handpicked candidates, as occurs in many other places in New Jersey.Mr. Fulop, who did not have the backing of the county Democratic Party when he was first elected mayor, has not commented on Mr. McGreevey’s potential candidacy. The two have a fraught history: Mr. McGreevey was fired from a job in Jersey City in 2019 after Mr. Fulop and his aides suggested the former governor had misallocated funds, a claim Mr. McGreevey said was untrue and was disproved by independent audits.Jersey City’s mayor, Steven Fulop, is competing for the Democratic nomination for governor and has said that he will not seek re-election to a fourth term in City Hall.Bryan Anselm for The New York TimesThe mayor of Union City, N.J., a powerful county leader, was first to champion Mr. McGreevey’s candidacy, generating a cascade of early institutional support.But two possible Democratic opponents, William O’Dea, a county commissioner, and James Solomon, a city councilman, argued that this outside support, while helpful for fund-raising, could also backfire.“It’s creating this overarching question: ‘Why are these folks who have nothing to do with our city imposing their will on our city?’ ” said Mr. O’Dea, who also held a political fund-raiser this week.Mr. Solomon said voters were savvy enough to think for themselves.“I haven’t met a voter in Jersey City who is concerned with the opinions of power brokers outside of Jersey City,” Mr. Solomon said. “They’re concerned about rents going through the roof and political cronies stealing their tax dollars. They’re going to vote for the candidate who can make their life better.”Politics is not the only community Mr. McGreevey has returned to.After years as an Episcopalian, he has rejoined the Roman Catholic Church, unable to walk away for good from the faith that shaped him as a child and younger man.He attends Mass regularly at Christ the King, a predominantly African American congregation in Jersey City, parishioners say. He is friendly and contributes to the upkeep of the parish. His homosexuality, which the catechism of the Catholic church does not approve of, is not an issue, they say.“We accept him. He accepts us,” said Ann Warren, 63, the parish business administrator.Still, in a city where more than 75 percent of residents are nonwhite, Ms. Warren said the concerted push by county leaders to “recycle their buddies” and put him at the front of the line smacks of the “hypocrisy of the Democratic Party.”Joyce E. Watterman, the first Black woman to serve as City Council president in Jersey City, is among the three likely mayoral candidates pushed to the side as Mr. McGreevey was elevated.“It’s like, ‘We’re all for minorities and blah, blah, blah,” said Ms. Warren, a lifelong resident of Jersey City.“But we’re not willing to invest the funds to put them in positions that matter. It’s just the same old boy network.” More

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      Paul Pelosi, el marido que se ocupa de las tareas mundanas

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      La pareja de Nancy Pelosi fundó una firma de inversión en capital de riesgo, pero desde que la presidenta de la Cámara de Representantes optó por la política, es quien compra las toallas de cocina y el guardarropa de ella.WASHINGTON — La presidenta de la Cámara de Representantes, Nancy Pelosi, estaba pegada a la transmisión de CNN la noche que siguió a las elecciones de 2020, mientras su esposo, Paul Pelosi, sentado cerca de ella, abría un paquete.“¿Qué es eso?”, le pregunta a su marido en una escena del nuevo documental de HBO, Pelosi in the House, dirigido por su hija Alexandra Pelosi.“Toallas de cocina”, le responde el hombre con un ápice de ironía mientras revienta el papel burbuja del embalaje. Nancy Pelosi sonríe y luego vuelve a concentrarse en la cobertura electoral.Este es solo un ejemplo de una dinámica que se observa a lo largo de todo el filme: Paul Pelosi, quien fue brutalmente agredido en la residencia de la pareja en San Francisco por un atacante cuyo objetivo, según se dijo, era la presidenta de la Cámara Baja, se ocupa de lo que su familia denomina el “negocio de vivir”. Esto le da a su esposa, quien dejará su cargo el 3 de enero cuando los republicanos asuman la mayoría de la Cámara de Representantes, la libertad de enfocarse en su trabajo político.Es el tipo de relación que las mujeres que se dedican a la política rara vez mencionan, pero que a veces puede marcar la diferencia entre el éxito y el fracaso: una pareja dispuesta a ocuparse de las tareas mundanas y del rol de apoyo que tradicionalmente recaía en las esposas de los políticos. Y aunque los Pelosi tienen una buena posición económica y pueden contratar toda la ayuda que necesitan en su hogar, el documental muestra que ser cónyuge de una figura política puede significar simplemente estar presente y luego hacerse a un lado.En el transcurso de la película, mientras Nancy Pelosi atiende asuntos por teléfono con el exvicepresidente Mike Pence, el senador Chuck Schumer o Joe Biden, quien entonces era candidato a la presidencia, Paul Pelosi, de 82 años, un empresario multimillonario que fundó una firma de inversión en capital de riesgo, a menudo está en el mismo espacio atendiendo las necesidades cotidianas de la vida en común.En una escena, la dirigente está en pijama elaborando estrategias en una llamada con el representante demócrata de Nueva York Jerrold Nadler, sobre el primer juicio político al presidente Donald Trump mientras Paul Pelosi, sentado frente a ella, habla por celular con un contratista que está intentando entrar a su casa en San Francisco para reparar una ducha averiada.“No sé qué le pasó a esa llave”, dice Paul Pelosi, usando una palabrota.La pareja se conoció cuando eran estudiantes universitarios en un curso de verano en la Universidad de Georgetown en 1961. Se casaron dos años después y tuvieron cinco hijos en seis años. Nancy Pelosi dedicó los primeros años de su matrimonio a ser madre y ama de casa en San Francisco y no se postuló al Congreso sino hasta cumplir más de 40 años. Lo que sucedió después fue algo que Paul Pelosi jamás pudo haber imaginado para su esposa ni para su familia, según su hija.“Creo que esto no era lo que él tenía en mente en 1987”, dijo Alexandra Pelosi en una entrevista, en referencia al año en que su madre fue elegida por primera vez al Congreso. “Él solo tuvo que aceptarlo”.La pareja tuvo cinco hijos en seis añosPeter DaSilva para The New York TimesSegún su hija, a Paul Pelosi nunca le picó el bicho de la política. Le prohíbe a su familia hablar del tema en la mesa durante la cena. Pero con el correr de los años, ha estado al lado de su esposa en sus momentos políticos más importantes y ha asumido muchos de los deberes domésticos. Lava los platos, lidia con contratistas, paga las facturas y compra la ropa de Nancy Pelosi.“Ella nunca ha ordenado toallas de cocina en su vida”, dijo Alexandra Pelosi. “Eso es algo que él siempre ha hecho. Él hace las compras, desde las toallas de cocina hasta el vestido Armani”.“Tiene a Armani guardado en sus números de marcado rápido”, añadió, en referencia al diseñador italiano Giorgio Armani, uno de los favoritos de su madre. “Es esposo a tiempo completo”.Alexandra Pelosi compartió más detalles: “El vestido que usó para la cena de Estado, lo mandó pedir él y se lo envió a mi hermana para que se lo probara”. (Se refería al vestido de noche dorado de lentejuelas de otro diseñador italiano, Giambattista Valli, que su madre lució en diciembre en una cena de Estado en la Casa Blanca para recibir al presidente de Francia, Emmanuel Macron).El documental, que se centra en el ascenso y los logros profesionales de Nancy Pelosi, deja entrever cómo estar casada con una pareja comprensiva ayuda a crear un espacio laboral para una mujer que, durante años, fue la fuerza política más poderosa del Partido Demócrata en los tiempos recientes.Con excepción de Hillary Clinton, pocas mujeres en la política han alcanzado la estatura de Pelosi y no hay muchos esposos como el suyo. El expresidente Bill Clinton fungió un papel de pareja de apoyo durante las dos campañas presidenciales de Clinton, pero luego de haber tenido él su turno.Doug Emhoff ha asumido el papel de reparto como pareja de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris, pero eso ha significado que él mismo se ha convertido en figura pública por derecho propio. Pelosi nunca ambicionó nada como eso.“Él es una persona privada con una vida privada y una colección muy interesante de amigos, algunos de los cuales son republicanos”, dijo Alexandra Pelosi. “Él no buscaba este estilo de vida”.Sin embargo, se adaptó, aseguró su hija. “Toda mujer necesita a un Paul Pelosi”.Los Pelosi se conocieron en 1961 durante un curso de verano en la Universidad de Georgetown.Doug Mills/The New York TimesEn una escena del documental, Pelosi estaba limpiando los platos de desayuno en bata mientras su esposa hablaba con Pence. En un momento, ella se puso en mute y le mandó besos volados a su marido.En una escena filmada en la campaña presidencial de 2020, Nancy Pelosi estaba al teléfono con Biden aconsejándole “no te vayas mucho a la izquierda”. Paul Pelosi estaba sentado junto a ella, leyendo su iPad y medio poniendo atención a la conversación de su esposa.Él parecía cómodo con su papel de reparto.“¿Estás haciendo fila para tomarte una foto con la presidenta de la Cámara?”, le gritó detrás de la cámara su hija a Paul Pelosi en una reunión en el Capitolio de Estados Unidos antes de uno de los discursos de Trump, mientras Nancy Pelosi estaba haciéndose fotos con gente que quería retratarse con ella.“Ay, sí”, bromeó él.El año siguiente, ahí estaba una vez más, sentado y botaneando mientras Pelosi trabajaba.“Me enteré que Paul Pelosi andaba aquí”, bromeó su hija.“Solo vine por los pistachos”, dijo él.Cuando ella se preparaba para ingresar al recinto de la Cámara —donde al final rompería el discurso de Trump y lo desestimaría como un “manifiesto de falsedades”— su esposo estuvo con ella en el despacho ofreciéndole apoyo moral.“Te ves fabulosa, cariño”, le dijo Pelosi.Pese a sus apariciones en el documental, Paul Pelosi no siempre está al lado de su esposa, como sucedió en mayo, cuando sufrió un accidente automovilístico en el condado de Napa, California, y después se declaró culpable de un cargo de conducir bajo el efecto del alcohol. Nancy Pelosi estaba al otro lado del país, preparándose para dar un discurso de graduación en la Universidad de Brown.“Está presente en los días importantes”, dijo Alexandra Pelosi. “En realidad solo lo hace porque ella le dice que tiene que ir. Las personas de este ámbito necesitan una familia que las apoye en los días importantes”.En octubre, Paul Pelosi fue atacado con un martillo en la residencia de la pareja en San Francisco por un hombre que más tarde se dijo que buscaba agredir a la presidenta de la Cámara de Representantes. Aunque sufrió lesiones graves en la cabeza, en los últimos días se le ha visto acompañando a su esposa en diversos eventos, como la ceremonia de develación de su retrato en el Capitolio y la celebración de los Kennedy Center Honors.Sin embargo, la cineasta afirmó que su padre aún debe enfrentar un largo camino para su recuperación. “Tiene días buenos y días malos”, explicó y comentó que tiene estrés postraumático y se agota con facilidad.El ataque contra el hombre que ha sido el pilar silencioso de la vida de la familia Pelosi ha ocasionado estragos en todos sus integrantes. En una entrevista reciente con Anderson Cooper de CNN, la presidenta de la Cámara Baja dijo: “Para mí, esta es la parte realmente difícil, porque Paul no era el objetivo y él es quien está pagando el precio”.“No buscaba a Paul, sino que iba por mí”, agregó.Su hija expresó que uno de los aspectos más incómodos de esta terrible experiencia ha sido la atención pública que se ha centrado en una persona que siempre ha intentado eludirla.“Él ha evitado el protagonismo todo lo que ha podido”, afirmó. “Casi llegó al final sin que nadie supiera quién es”.Annie Karni es corresponsal de la Casa Blanca. Anteriormente cubrió la Casa Blanca y la campaña presidencial de 2016 de Hillary Clinton para Politico, y cubrió noticias locales y política en Nueva York para el New York Post y el New York Daily News. @AnnieKarni More

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      Advice From Pelosi’s Daughter: ‘Every Woman Needs a Paul Pelosi'

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      Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, a multimillionaire venture capitalist recovering from a brutal attack, has long taken care of the couple’s “business of living,” including shopping for the speaker’s clothes.WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was glued to CNN the night after the 2020 election, while her husband, Paul Pelosi, sat nearby unwrapping a package.“What is that?” she asked him in a scene from the new HBO documentary, “Pelosi in the House,” directed by their daughter Alexandra Pelosi.“Dish towels,” Mr. Pelosi responded with a hint of irony as he popped the bubble packing. Ms. Pelosi smiled and then turned her attention back to the election coverage.It was just one instance of a dynamic on display throughout the film: Mr. Pelosi, who was brutally attacked at the couple’s San Francisco home by an assailant who was said to have been targeting the speaker, takes care of what their family refers to as the “business of living.” That leaves his wife, who will step down as speaker when Republicans assume the House majority on Jan. 3, free to focus on her work.It is the kind of relationship that women in politics rarely talk about, but can sometimes help make the difference between success and failure: a partner willing to take on the mundane tasks and supportive role that traditionally fell to political wives. And although the Pelosis are wealthy and can get all the household help they need, the documentary captures that being a political spouse can mean simply showing up, and then standing off to the side.Throughout the film, as Ms. Pelosi does business on the phone with Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Chuck Schumer or Joseph R. Biden Jr., who was then a presidential candidate, Mr. Pelosi, 82, a multimillionaire businessman who founded a venture capital investment firm, is often in the same room dealing with the day-to-day necessities of their lives.In one scene, Ms. Pelosi was in her pajamas strategizing on a call with Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, about the first impeachment of President Donald J. Trump while Mr. Pelosi, sitting across from her, was on his cellphone dealing with a contractor trying to access their San Francisco home to fix a broken shower.A New U.S. Congress Takes ShapeFollowing the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats maintained control of the Senate while Republicans flipped the House.Who Is George Santos?: The G.O.P. congressman-elect from New York says he’s the “embodiment of the American dream.” But his résumé appears to be mostly fiction.McCarthy’s Fraught Speaker Bid: Representative Kevin McCarthy has so far been unable to quash a mini-revolt on the right that threatens to imperil his effort to secure the top House job.The G.O.P.’s Fringe: Three incoming congressmen attended a gala that drew white nationalists and conspiracy theorists, raising questions about the influence of extremists on the new Republican-led House.Kyrsten Sinema: The Arizona senator said that she would leave the Democratic Party and register as an independent, just days after the Democrats secured an expanded majority in the Senate.“I don’t know what happened to that key,” Mr. Pelosi said, using an expletive.Paul and Nancy Pelosi met as college students while taking a summer class at Georgetown University in 1961. They married two years later and had five children in six years. Ms. Pelosi spent her early years in the marriage as a stay-at-home San Francisco mother and did not run for Congress until she was in her 40s. What followed was nothing that Mr. Pelosi ever pictured for his wife, or his family, according to his daughter.“I don’t think this is what he signed up for in 1987,” Alexandra Pelosi said in an interview, referring to the year Ms. Pelosi was first elected to Congress. “He just had to get over it.”The couple had five children in six years.Peter DaSilva for The New York TimesMr. Pelosi, according to his daughter, never caught the political bug. He forbids political talk at the dinner table. But over the years he has been at his wife’s side at her big political moments, and has taken on many of the duties of the homemaker. He does the dishes, deals with contractors, pays the bills and shops for Ms. Pelosi’s clothes.“She’s never ordered dish towels in her life,” Alexandra Pelosi said. “That’s what he’s been doing forever. He does the shopping for her, from the dish towels to the Armani dress.”“He’s got Armani on speed dial,” she added, referring to the Italian designer Giorgio Armani, one of the speaker’s favorites. “He’s the full-service husband.”Ms. Pelosi had more to say: “The dress she wore to the state dinner; he ordered it for her, and he sent my sister to go try it on.” (Ms. Pelosi was referring to a gold sequin gown by another Italian designer, Giambattista Valli, that her mother wore to a White House state dinner early this month for President Emmanuel Macron of France.)The documentary, focused on Ms. Pelosi’s rise and professional accomplishments, offers glimpses into how a marriage to a supportive spouse helps create the space for a woman’s work — in her case, operating years as the most powerful political force in the Democratic Party in recent years.Other than Hillary Clinton, few women in politics have risen to Ms. Pelosi’s stature, and there are not many male spouses like her husband. Former President Bill Clinton played the role of supportive spouse during Mrs. Clinton’s two presidential campaigns, but after he had already had his turn.Doug Emhoff has assumed a supporting role to Vice President Kamala Harris, but that has also meant becoming a public figure in his own right. Mr. Pelosi never wanted anything close to that.“He’s a private person with a private life with a very interesting collection of friends, including Republicans,” Alexandra Pelosi said. “He didn’t sign up for this life.”But, she said, he has made it work. “Every woman needs a Paul Pelosi.”The Pelosis met in 1961, while taking a summer class at Georgetown University. Doug Mills/The New York TimesIn one scene in the documentary, Mr. Pelosi was scraping breakfast dishes in a robe while his wife spoke on the phone to Mr. Pence. At one point, she put herself on mute and blew kisses at her husband.In a scene shot during the 2020 presidential campaign, Ms. Pelosi was on the phone with Mr. Biden advising him “don’t go too far to the left.” Mr. Pelosi was sitting next to her, reading his iPad, only half paying attention to his wife’s conversation.Mr. Pelosi appeared at ease in his supporting character role.“Are you in line to get a picture with the speaker?” his daughter shouted at him from behind the camera at a gathering at the U.S. Capitol ahead of one of Mr. Trump’s State of the Union addresses, while Ms. Pelosi was working a photo line.“Oh I am,” he joked.The following year, there he was again, sitting and snacking while Ms. Pelosi worked the room.“I heard Paul Pelosi was here,” his daughter joked.“I just came for the pistachios,” he said.As Ms. Pelosi prepared to enter the House chamber — where she would eventually tear up Mr. Trump’s speech and dismiss it as a “manifesto of mistruths” — her husband was with her in her office offering moral support.“You look great, hon,” Mr. Pelosi told her.Despite his appearances in the documentary, Mr. Pelosi is not always at the speaker’s side, including in May, when he was in a car accident in Napa County, Calif., and afterward pleaded guilty to a single count of driving under the influence of alcohol. Ms. Pelosi was across the country, preparing to deliver a commencement address at Brown University.“He’s there for the days that matter,” Alexandra Pelosi said. “It’s really just because she says you have to come. These kinds of people need a family to be there for support on days that matter.”In October, Mr. Pelosi was beaten with a hammer at the couple’s San Francisco home by an assailant who was said to have been targeting the speaker. He suffered major head injuries, but has appeared in recent days by Ms. Pelosi’s side, including her portrait unveiling at the Capitol and at the Kennedy Center Honors celebration.Still, his daughter said he was on a long road to recovery. “He has good days and bad days,” she said, noting that he has post-traumatic stress and tires quickly.The attack on the man who has been a quiet pillar of the Pelosi family life has taken a toll on all of them. The speaker told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in a recent interview that “for me this is really the hard part because Paul was not the target, and he’s the one who is paying the price.”“He was not looking for Paul, he was looking for me,” she added.His daughter said one of the most uncomfortable parts of the ordeal has been the glare of the public spotlight on a person who has tried to avoid it.“He’s remained out of the limelight as much as he could,” she said. “He almost got to the end without anyone knowing who he was.” More