Craig Guy was sworn into office as Hudson County’s fifth ever County Executive Thursday, Jan. 4, at a packed inauguration event headlined by New Jersey Gov. Philip D. Murphy, who administered the oath of office.
The ceremony at the Hudson County Schools of Technology’s Earl W. Byrd Center in Jersey City was attended by nearly 1,000 supporters.
Featuring participation from over 100 students across various disciplines, the event included remarks from numerous elected officials, musical performances, gourmet hors d’oeuvres prepared by HCST culinary arts students and more.
Following his inauguration, Guy spoke about his plans to implement an agenda designed to provide increased opportunities and improved services for Hudson County residents.
Numerous speakers paid tribute to outgoing County Executive Tom DeGise, praising his record of investing in the communities he served and restoring honesty and integrity to the office.
“Hudson County has always been my home and I know that together we can make it an even better place for people to live, work, start a family and pursue their dreams,” Guy said. “I am honored to have Gov. Murphy swear me in and (I am) deeply grateful to all of the elected officials, community leaders, brothers and sisters in labor, students and friends who made this event so special.
“Having the opportunity to serve the residents of Hudson County is a responsibility that I will cherish, and I promise that my administration will be laser focused on providing even more opportunities through which our residents may thrive.”
During his remarks Guy said reducing gun violence in Hudson County will be a critical focus of his new administration. He praised Murphy for being a leading force and setting a “national example” for tougher gun laws, highlighting the recent gun violence data that was released by the state showing the lowest annual number of shooting victims since statewide records have been kept.
Guy also singled out “the great work of Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez” and the partnerships she has built with county and local law enforcement in Hudson and he vowed to continue pursuing initiatives at all levels of government to reduce gun violence.
“I am thrilled to swear in my good friend Craig Guy as he officially assumes the role of county executive and shares his vision for the future of Hudson County,” Murphy said. “Craig has built a reputation as a results-oriented public servant focused on improving the lives of families across our state. I know he’ll continue building on his impressive track record of making Hudson County a great place to live, work, and raise a family.”
The event kicked off with the presentation of colors, which was carried out by the Honor Guards of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office and Hudson County Department of Corrections. The ceremony was blessed by the Rev. Vic Kennedy and Rabbi Leana Moritt.
HCST students Zachary Yabut and Brianna Paulino served as masters of ceremonies.
Welcoming the crowd was the High Tech High School Voices choir, who sang a rendition of U2’s “Beautiful Day.”
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by HCST Explore middle school student Nia Jackson and the National Anthem was performed by HCST High Tech High School freshman Lola Castellano. Closing out the ceremony was the County Prep High School “The Wonder Collective” band with a cover version Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.