| Candidate
Information
Professional
Background: Mr.
Cryan relocated back to New Jersey and began a business career with ITT
Avionics in Clifton. Starting at an entry-level position, he moved
up the corporate ladder, and when he left in 1993 he was operations
manager, with more than 100 people in his charge and a program
budget in excess of $300 million. In 1993, Mr. Cryan joined his
family’s business by owning and operating Cryan’s Restaurant in
Metuchen. In 2003, he left the restaurant business to serve as
undersheriff in Union County, a position he still holds today.
Education:
Born in 1961, Mr. Cryan grew up in the Vailsburg section of
Newark, where he attended Sacred Heart Grammar School and the Seton Hall
Preparatory High School of South Orange. He graduated summa cum
laude from Belmont Abbey College, a Catholic college located in Belmont,
North Carolina, with a B.A. in Business Administration in 1983.
Family
Life:
Mr. Cryan is the son of the late John Cryan, a native
of County Roscommon, Ireland, and Mary Cryan, whose
parents both immigrated to the United States from County
Donegal, Ireland. He
resides in Union with his two children, John and
Megan.
Government
Experience: In 1996, Mr. Cryan was
elected the Township of Union’s Democratic municipal chairman. Today, all elected
township committee officials are
Democratic. Mr. Cryan is in his third term in the New Jersey State Assembly,
where as deputy majority leader he serves as chair of the Assembly Human
Services Committee, vice chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee
and a member of the Assembly Budget Committee. In February 2006, he was
elected chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee after
serving as its vice chairman since 2002.
Clubs
and Organizations:
The Cryan family has been long involved in Irish activities,
both in organizations and in their businesses. Mr. Cryan is the standard
bearer of the John F. Cryan Association; he is also a co-founder and
first president of the Irish-American Society of Union. He is a
vice-president of the Brian Boru Association, a member of the Knights of
Columbus Council 4504 and other organizations.
Mr.
Cryan has received awards from various civic organizations, including the Irishman
of the Year award from the Rahway Division of the Ancient Order of the
Hibernians Division 3 and the Dedicated Service Award to the Irish
Community from the Union County Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick. Most
recently, he has been named "Legislator of the Year" by both the ARC of
New Jersey and the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association. He has also
received praise for his leadership and public service from the Families
and Community Together program and the New Jersey Law Enforcement
Officers Association.
In 1997, Mr. Cryan served as the first chairman of the
Union County Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, now an annual event that
draws as many as 50,000 spectators. He remains an active
member of the Union Parade Committee. Mr. Cryan was also selected as
grand marshal for the 2001 Woodbridge Saint Patrick’s Day Parade.
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