Heck, why wouldn’t former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey want to live in Hoboken? Not only is it a progressive urban locale with a track record of acceptance in regards to alternative lifestyles, but it’s also one of the few towns in America where a disgraced politician can actually blend in with the general populace…

There! I took my cheap shot – and in fairness to the former governor, I deserve to get it out of my system. Outdoing even Christopher Lloyd’s character on “Taxi,” the story of this Reverend Jim is far more surreal. He took the people of the state of New Jersey for one hell of a ride, and we’re still paying the fare to this day. Plus I also heard a rumor that he might be gay…

Of course I feel the need to clarify; as far as I’m concerned, the issue in regards to McGreevey is colorblind – the color in this case being a great big rainbow flag that he happened to wrap himself in. And honestly, anyone who is surprised by a politician’s marital infidelity simply hasn’t been paying attention. Looming larger than the former governor’s personal issues was the demonstrated fact that they directly impacted his administration. That’s what troubled me most when the revelations became public fodder back in 2004.

But now five years later he’s my neighbor, studying to become a minister at Trinity Episcopal Church (707 Washington St., Hoboken; not to be confused with Trinity Restaurant/Bar/Lounge on Sinatra Drive – I wonder how many phone calls they’ve been getting…) I suppose he’s been through a tremendous wringer, and whether or not you choose to believe him, he claims he’s simply looking to move on. At the end of the day, what do I care? The man has to live somewhere – if I stop and think about it, there are a lot of people in this town that have done a lot more to piss me off than Jim McGreevey. So for the record, I say welcome. I actually had a chance to meet then-Gov. McGreevey covering an event for The Reporter just weeks before his resignation and he seemed like a nice enough guy.

As for his new vocation, I wish him all the best. Of course that’s easy for me to say – I go to a different church. But there’s nothing more illustrative of basic Christian tenets than the unconditional acceptance of others on their path to redemption, no matter how egregious their transgressions may be in your mind.

Eliot Spitzer just gave a speech on ethics at Harvard University. Jim McGreevey is working as an apprentice at a church. In the grand scheme of things, I’d say McGreevey is at least making a better effort at appearing contrite.

Christopher M. Halleron, freelance writer/retired bartender, writes a biweekly humor column for The Midweek Reporter. Like a well-made Manhattan, he’s stirred but never shaken. Feel free to drop him a line at chris@chrishalleron.com or follow him at http://twitter.com/HALLERON.