Silent Partner: A Memoir of My Marriage by Dina Matos McGreevey

Torricelli’s claims had Jim worried, but Jim’s strategy was to assert, with practiced complacency, that Essex was his, while working tirelessly behind the scenes to try to keep Sharpe James in his corner. He hoped that other counties would then hold off before aligning themselves with any other candidate. There was some risk for county leaders in remaining neutral, even temporarily. Torricelli was widely perceived as a bully. If he had prevailed, those who hadn’t rushed to support him would have reason to fear payback. Jim, on the other hand, didn’t have the reputation of being vengeful, and besides, in this particular contest he was the underdog.
    On Tuesday, July 25, Jim held a rally in Newark. He knew there wasn’t going to be a big turnout, so the night before, he asked me if I could get some of my friends to show up. I knew I could get at least a handful to go, and they spent that night making signs saying JIM MCGREEVEY FOR GOVERNOR and PORTUGUESE-AMERICANS FOR JIM MCGREEVEY. Meanwhile I tried to conduct my own barometric readings. If I saw a political leader, no matter how small his or her constituency, I would say, “You’re supporting, Jim, right?” Some would say, “Of course I am!” while others would just sort of smile and walk away. In the end, even the walkaways supported Jim. Beyond that, I can’t claim to have rallied Newark behind Jim. Sharpe James was not a mayor who paid a great deal of attention to the Portuguese-American community, so my organization didn’t have much leverage there.
    During that time, Jim was more energized and more in-your-face than I’d ever seen him before. Jon Corzine had stepped back into neutrality. Nevertheless, one night when Corzine was holding a postprimary event to thank African-American clergy who had supported him, Jim walked unannounced into the restaurant where they were having dinner, shook hands with everyone, and left. A week later, on Friday the twenty-eighth, Jim stuck out his stubborn jaw and filed his application to run for governor—a full eighteen months prior to the election. Just what I would have done in his position.
    On July 27, Jim got the support of local labor unions at a rally, and by Sunday the thirtieth, it was all over for Torricelli. That day, Jim and two members of his inner circle, including Ray Lesniak, met at a Newark Airport hotel with leaders from Essex and Hudson counties. That’s when it became clear to Jim that Sharpe James, who attended the meeting, was supporting Jim after all.
    Once James announced publicly that he was backing Jim, the contest was over, though Jim and his staff were astounded at how quickly Torricelli had crumpled. Watching this all close up, I was riveted—but surprised. I remembered what I’d learned in my political science classes at Rutgers University, and this had been nothing like that. The books I read on the electoral process, and dutifully underlined in yellow highlighter at the Rutgers library, talked as if elections took place in an ideal universe where the best candidate would invariably win. It’s not like that anywhere, except maybe in the movies. In real life, the best candidate may not even be able to afford to run. What I learned about politics during this battle is that it’s a down-and-dirty business.
    What I learned about Jim was that he was willing to work harder than almost anybody to get what he wanted, that he had guts and passion—all qualities you’d want in a candidate, not to mention a husband.

 
     
    6. FROM THIS MOMENT ON
     
     
    THERE WERE GLITCHES, OF course. A wedding just isn’t a wedding without glitches. In the beginning, we had planned to get married at one of the chapels on the Georgetown campus. When the paperwork from Georgetown arrived, confirming our reservation for Saturday, October 7, I presumed that they were giving us permission to marry in Copley Crypt, the chapel we had requested. I went ahead and prepared the wedding invitations—after all, as a