Assemblyman Joseph Cryan

Born in 1961, Joseph Cryan was raised in the Vailsburg section of Newark where he attended Sacred Heart Grammar School and the Seton Hall Preparatory High School of South Orange, NJ.  Joe graduated summa cum laude from Belmont Abbey College , a Catholic college located in Belmont, North Carolina , with a BA in Business Administration in 1983.
 
Joe relocated back to New Jersey and began a business career with ITT Avionics in Clifton , NJ. Starting at an entry-level position, Joe moved up the corporate ladder quickly, and when he left in 1993 he was Operations Manager with over 100 people in his charge, and a program budget in excess of 300 million dollars.  In 1993, Joe joined his family’s business by owning and operating Cryan’s Restaurant in Metuchen. In 2003, Joe left the restaurant business to serve as Undersheriff in the County of Union , a position he still holds today.
  
Politics has always been a part of Joe Cryan’s life. In 1996, Joe was elected as the Township of Union ’s Democratic Municipal Chairman. He has been successful and today all elected Township Committee Officials are Democratic. Joe is in his fifth term in the New Jersey State Assembly where he currently serves as Majority Leader.
 
Joe recently served as Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee from February 2006 to February 2010.  He was elected chairman after serving as its Vice Chair since 2002.