Jim McGreevey

A Union County judge has ruled that former Gov. Jim McGreevey must pay child support to his now ex-wife Dina Matos, but does not owe any alimony payments.

Superior Court judge Karen Cassidy issued the ruling this afternoon. McGreevey will have to pay $1,075 per month in child support -- less than the $1,750 requested by Matos.

The ruling also requires that McGreevey pay Matos about $110,000 -- representing half the balance in various accounts he holds. Matos had wanted half of all present and future assets, potentially totaling up to $1 million. But McGreevey does not need to split any earnings from his book, "The Confession", nor for his "alleged celebrity goodwill".

In the opinion accompanying the ruling, Cassidy writes: "Mrs. McGreevey is able to earn a living. Her ability to support herself is hampered by her accrual of significant debt even though she received over $275,000 from a book detailing her experiences with the plaintiff. She is not entitled to a lifestyle commensurate with that of the First Lady of New Jersey."

Neither party must pay the other for legal fees, which totals in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here's today's cartoon, plus bonus cartoons about our favorite former Governor.

Teddy Pedersen, a former aide to Gov. James E. McGreevey, says he engaged in a threesome with the former Governor and his estranged wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, according to stories posted this evening in the New York Post and The Star-Ledger.

I finally understand why New Jersey bears the brunt of all those late night talk show jokes.  I was surprised and disappointed to hear that Kean University, one of New Jersey’s finest institutions of higher learning, has asked Jim McGreevey, to join its faculty.

Timothy Dacey today will leave his post as Bergen County Administrator to become the Vice President of Administrative Services at Bergen Community College.

A Metuchen Councilman who served as Woodbridge Township Administrator when James E. McGreevey was Governor, went to Bergen County in 2003 when Democrat Dennis McNerney ended sixteen years of GOP control of the County Executive's office.

His most likely successor is Robert Laux, who has served as McNerney’s Chief of Staff. Wood-Ridge Councilman Robert Ricadella is expected to replace Laux.

For now, Governor Jon Corzine has quietly asked Democratic party leaders to refrain from public endorsements in the race for the 2008 presidential nomination. But Corzine, unlike predecessors James E. McGreevey in 2004 (Howard Dean) and Christine Todd Whitman in 1996 (Bob Dole) and 2000 (George W. Bush), is unlikely to pressure County Chairmen and legislators to follow his own choice -- if he makes one at all. New Jersey Democrats, according to sources close to Corzine, will be free to pick their own candidate.

New Jersey appears to be set for a February 5, 2008 primary. The Senate has already passed a bill moving the date up from February 26, and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts has said he will post the bill in the lower house sometime soon. Corzine has pledged to sign the bill.