Union County Sheriff Joe Cryan showed up at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Wednesday night in support of his old pal, former Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell (D-31).

Cryan and O’Donnell were allies in the assembly when they both served there, their overlap coming mostly in the area of public pensions and benefits. They ran afoul of South Jersey Democrats and the GN3 party power structure, and subsequently retired to their mutual fiefdoms to try to piece together their respective comebacks.

Now, having issued an early endorsement of Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3), Cryan’s running for the senate seat vacated by state Senator Ray Lesniak (D-20); but he’s still close to O’Donnell, as his animated support presence proved last night.