MILITARY AND VETERAN AFFAIRS
Joseph Cryan was elected to the Senate in 2017. A former member of the New Jersey General Assembly, Cryan represented legislative District 20 from 2001 to January 4, 2015. He resigned after he was elected sheriff of Union County in 2014. Cryan served as the Majority Leader in the Assembly and chaired or served on over a dozen different committees in the legislature.
Ms. Cruz-Perez joined the Senate in December 2014, filling a vacancy, and won a special election in 2015 to complete the term. She won a full term in 2017. She served in the Assembly from 1995 to 2010. The senator was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She studied at the University of Puerto Rico while working for the Popular Democratic Party. In 1981, she joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Mainz, Germany. She continued her education while in the military by studying at the U.S. Quartermaster School, Big Bend Community College, Temple University and the University of Maryland’s overseas division. She was honorably discharged in 1987.
