Joseph Cryan
State senate 1New Jersey
District 120th
Term start 1January 9, 2018
Predecessor 1Raymond Lesniak
Office 2Majority Leader of the New Jersey General Assembly
Term start 2January 12, 2010
Term end 2January 10, 2012
Predecessor 2Bonnie Watson Coleman
Successor 2Louis Greenwald
State assembly 3New Jersey
District 320th
Alongside 3Neil M. Cohen, Annette Quijano
Term start 3January 8, 2002
Term end 3January 4, 2015
Predecessor 3Joseph Suliga
Successor 3Jamel Holley
Office 4Chair of the New Jersey Democratic Party
Term start 4February 17, 2006
Term end 4January 27, 2010
Predecessor 4Bonnie Watson Coleman
Successor 4John Wisniewski
Birth dateSeptember 1, 1961 (age 65)
Birth placeEast Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
RelationsJohn F. Cryan (father)
John Cryan (cousin)
EducationBelmont Abbey College (BA)
WebsiteState Senate website

Joseph P. Cryan[1] (born September 1, 1961) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2018, representing the 20th Legislative District. He previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2015, where he also represented the 20th Legislative District.

New Jersey Assembly

Cryan was the Majority Leader of the New Jersey General Assembly, serving from January 12, 2010, until January 10, 2012. Cryan served as the Assembly's Deputy Majority Leader 2006–2010, and was Assistant Majority Leader from 2004 to 2005. He served on the Human Services Committee and the Law and Public Safety Committee.[2]

New Jersey Senate

Cryan ran for New Jersey Senate in 2017, and won. Cryan was sworn in on January 9, 2018.

Assemblymember Jamel Holley announced in January 2021 that he would challenge Cryan in the June 2021 primaries.[3] Jason Krychiw also ran against Cryan in the primary.

Committees

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[4]

  • Higher Education (as chair)
  • Commerce (as vice-chair)

District 20

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[5] The representatives from the 20th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[6]

Personal

Cryan was born on September 1, 1961, in East Orange and raised Roman Catholic.[1] His father, John F. Cryan, an immigrant from County Roscommon, Ireland, was elected to the General Assembly and served as Sheriff of Essex County.[7]

Cryan's father had been charged in Federal court with racketeering and corruption, though the judge in the case dismissed the charges due to prosecutorial mistakes and ended the proceedings against him.[8]

The lawmaker's son, also named John Cryan, was convicted of brutally beating a motorist with a baseball bat while two accomplices punched and kicked the victim, after a case of road rage that occurred when his father was in the General Assembly. The younger Cryan was ordered by the court only to probation but he was later jailed for violating the terms of his sentence.[9]

Other relatives involved in public life are his cousin, Morristown Councilman John Cryan,[10] his sister, Union Township Municipal Clerk Eileen Birch, his cousin, Cranford, New Jersey township administrator Jamie Cryan,[11] his brother-in-law Superior Court judge Joseph Donohue.[12]

The New York Post reported that Cryan "graphically spelled out his kinky proclivities in more than 150 e-mails that he sent to" a former lobbyist for Prudential Financial who pleaded guilty to stalking his girlfriend in exchange for being allowed to participate in a pre-trial intervention program.[13] "The e-mails were written when the pol presumably would have been at one of his government jobs — either his $49,000-a-year Assembly gig or his $111,000-a-year post as Union County undersheriff," the Post said.

Cryan graduated with a B.A. from Belmont Abbey College in Business Administration[2] in 1983.[1] Cryan was born in East Orange, and currently resides in Union Township.[1]

Democratic state chairman

Cryan has served on the New Jersey State Democratic Committee since 2002, as Vice Chair. On February 17, 2006, Cryan was selected to be the head of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, succeeding Bonnie Watson Coleman. He stepped down after the selection of his successor John S. Wisniewski on January 27, 2010.[14] As Democratic state chairman, in November 2009, Assemblyman Cryan presided over a Democratic gubernatorial party loss by incumbent Jon Corzine to Republican Chris Christie.[15] He was replaced as state chairman in January 2010 by Assemblyman John Wisniewski.

References

  1. ^ "Assembly Member Joseph P. Cryan's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
  2. ^ "Assemblyman Joseph Cryan". Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. ^ "Holley to Challenge Cryan in LD20 Democratic Primary". Insider NJ. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. ^ Senator Joseph P. Cryan (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2024.
  5. ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  6. ^ Legislative Roster for District 20, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2024.
  7. ^ "Essex Irish Family Recognized As Civic, Public and Business Leaders". Newark, New Jersey: Essex County, New Jersey. March 15, 2005. Retrieved August 17, 2011. John Cryan, a former Essex County Sheriff and Assemblyman, who was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, passed away last month. He was 75. Cryan immigrated to America and Essex County in the late 1940s... During the Irish Heritage Celebration, Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union), a witty storyteller, remembered his dad as a loving father, husband and civic leader.
  8. ^ Maitland, Leslie (August 10, 1980). "Did Del Tufo Jump, or Was He Pushed By Abscam?". The New York Times. p. E6. Retrieved August 17, 2011. A Federal judge ordered racketeering and kickback charges against former Essex County Sheriff John Cryan dropped, after halting his trial because of prosecution errors in drafting the charges.
  9. ^ "Another Cryan Arrested Drunk". NJ Today. October 30, 2007.
  10. ^ "Cryan Crime Family Update". NJToday.net. November 3, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  11. ^ Romano defeats Cryan, takes over as Hoboken Democratic chairman https://observer.com/2015/06/romano-defeats-cryan-takes-over-as-hoboken-democratic-chairman/
  12. ^ "Senator Joe Cryan has been bringing his family to work". NJ Today. June 4, 2021.
  13. ^ JOSH MARGOLIN and JEANE MACINTOSH (March 25, 2013). "Bondage pol was hard-ly working". The New York Post. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  14. ^ Pizarro, Max (January 27, 2010). "Democratic State Committee picks Wisniewski to chair party". PolitickerNJ. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  15. ^ "Gov. Corzine hurt by scant support in Democratic strongholds". The Star-Ledger. nj.com. November 4, 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2011. Corzine carried Union County — but just barely. Democratic Committee Chairwoman Charlotte DeFilippo said her organization delivered. "I think if you look statewide, we did very well for the governor. We did our job," she said. But the numbers show turnout there was less than memorable. More than 10,000 fewer voters went to the polls in Union County on Tuesday, compared to the 2005 governor's race. Corzine received 77,982 votes in that election and only 64,759 votes on Tuesday."

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