New Jerseyans got their third governor in five days yesterday, and no one even had to resign this time to shove the gubernatorial merry-go-round into motion.

Codey (D., Essex) knows that role well. He was governor for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned amid a gay-sex scandal in November 2004.

But Codey left for Philadelphia yesterday afternoon with his wife, Mary Jo, to receive an award from the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania for their efforts to promote mental health.

With Corzine and Codey out of state, Joseph Roberts Jr., who became Assembly speaker in January, served his first stint as the state's top official. The constitutional succession will change in 2010, when the state gets its first lieutenant governor.

Roberts (D., Camden) took the oath in a private 4 p.m. ceremony at the Statehouse and expects to remain acting governor through about 7 p.m. today, spokesman Joe Donnelly said.

He also planned to sign two bills, one requiring municipal court administrators to hold a special certificate and another changing state horse-racing laws to, among other things, allow future bets and lower the minimum bet from $1 to 10 cents on certain wagers, Donnelly said.

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