Surrounded by his wife Christine, and his children Matt, Danny, and Mallory, lifelong Atlantic County resident Chris Brown took his oath office for the New Jersey State Senate today, becoming the eighth State Senator from Atlantic County under the 1947 State Constitution.

“I am humbled and blessed to have the confidence and trust of working families and retirees throughout Atlantic County and I will work hard to honor their trust, confidence, and faith in me,” said Brown.

Brown enters the Senate after a six-year tenure in the General Assembly characterized by his independent voting record and his unrelenting opposition and ultimately successful battle against North Jersey casinos and his sponsorship of legislation to diversify Atlantic County’s economy through the aviation industry.

Further, Brown’s fiscally conservative and socially moderate voting record as a Republican was recognized by both the Atlantic City and Mainland-Pleasantville chapters of the NAACP, each of which bestowed Brown with their Good Government Service Award.

“I believe we owe it to our hard-working middle-class families and retirees to put people before party, which is why I follow the examples of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan,” said Brown citing Kennedy’s advice, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer” and Reagan’s observation, “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

With his independent record, this past November, Atlantic County voters chose Brown, a decorated combat veteran who was activated for war on two occasions, to represent them in the State Senate despite an election environment that overwhelmingly favored Democrats. In fact, Brown was the only Republican in the country to win a seat that was held by a Democrat.

“New Jersey’s future depends on representatives like Chris Brown, who put people first, know the issues, listen to our families and speak clearly on their behalf, and work tirelessly to make our State more affordable,” said Senator Republican Leader Tom Kean, Jr. “That is why I am pleased he accepted a leadership role in our caucus.”