UNION – Following his swearing-in ceremony to be the 20th Legislative District’s representative in New Jersey’s State Senate, Senator Joseph Cryan today released the following statement:
“It was an absolutely exceptional moment to be surrounded by friends and family while being sworn into the State Senate to represent Union, Roselle, Hillside and Elizabeth and I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who helped make that moment possible. As someone raised by strict Irish Catholic parents to work hard to achieve goals and to fight every day to try and make things a little bit better for those around you, I also know that today is simply the beginning of a new chapter.
“As the representative for the 20th legislative district in the State Senate I will be fighting every day to push back on the oppressive policies of the last eight years and against the divisive rhetoric and horrific mandates emanating from the White House. I intend to prioritize higher education reforms, work with my colleagues towards establishing a comprehensive direction for healthcare continuum and establish legislation that will establish greater oversight and monitoring of incentive programs for companies that do business here in New Jersey to make sure we aren’t wasting money while also creating and maintaining work for our residents.
“I’ve seen the importance of serving the public almost from the time I was born. When I was a kid I used to see my dad doing whatever he could to help out people in the neighborhood. Above and beyond his work as a member of the General Assembly or as Essex County Sheriff, sometimes he might put in a good word for someone trying to get a job, sometimes he might just help someone put a little food on the table that night. But he never spoke about any of it because that’s not what truly serving the public is about. My father knew that people who need help aren’t looking for someone to shout from the mountaintop, they’re looking for someone to roll up their sleeves and do the work. I’d like to think my father would be proud today, but I know he’ll be proud every day I’m a State Senator because I’ll be rolling up my sleeves and doing that work.”