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Garcia, Mukherji Take Oath of Office in General Assembly

Will Represent 33rd Legislative District, Hudson County

(TRENTON) – Carmelo G. Garcia and Raj Mukherji were sworn-in to represent the 33rd Legislative District during the New Jersey General Assembly reorganization meeting on Tuesday. The afternoon ceremony at the War Memorial marked the commencement of the 216th Legislature.

The 33rd Legislative District includes the Hudson County municipalities of Hoboken, Union City, Weehawken, and a portion of Jersey City.

“It is an honor to represent the people of Hudson County as a member of the Assembly,” said Garcia (D-Hudson). “I look forward to working on issues that are important to our residents.

“We are ready to get to work. ‘We can, we will, watch us make a difference’ for Hudson and all of New Jersey.”

“I am proud to take part in building a better New Jersey from the seat in the General Assembly,” said Mukherji (D-Hudson). “There is much work to do this session. My colleagues and I are ready to hit the ground running on behalf of Hudson County and the people of New Jersey.”

From his early days of growing up in Hoboken, Carmelo Garcia has overcome adversity and challenges that have only strengthened his lifelong commitment to enacting positive change and creating opportunities for all to succeed.
Mr. Garcia worked as a Legislative Aide for the County of Hudson Board of Chosen Freeholders then served as Chief of Staff, from 1999-2011. During this time, his commitment and passion to meet the needs of constituents was evident. Mr. Garcia was the first minority to be appointed to serve as the Director of Health and Human Services for the City of Hoboken.

In 2002, Mr. Garcia was elected to the Hoboken Board of Education. Since this time, Carmelo has been continuously re-elected to the Hoboken BOE. He has served in the capacity of trustee, past vice president, and president of the Hoboken BOE. The commitment Carmelo has made to the children to improve their quality of education stands strong to this day an improving student achievement.

A graduate of Seton Hall University, Carmelo Garcia earned his master’s degree in Management and Information Systems from Stevens Institute of Technology. He holds several certifications in Human Resource Management from Rutgers University, Leadership and organizational development from Cornell University and was selected in 2012 by Neighborworks of America to attend Harvard’s JFK School of Government’s achieving excellence in community development. He is currently the Executive Director of the Hoboken Housing Authority since 2007. Mr. Garcia resides in Hoboken with his wife Margarita.

Raj Mukherji founded an Internet consulting and software development company while in middle school, grew it, and later sold it to a larger technology company to join the Marines two weeks after 9/11 at age 17, where he served in military intelligence for the Marine Corps Reserve. As a young entrepreneur, he withdrew from high school at 15 to enroll in an early college program at Bard College at Simon’s Rock and eventually earned a bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State College, an individualized Master of Liberal Arts focused on national security from the University of Pennsylvania, and a law degree (Juris Doctor), cum laude, from Seton Hall Law School. He is presently an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at New Jersey City University.

From March 2012 thru June 2013, Mr. Mukherji served as one of the two Deputy Mayors of Jersey City, New Jersey’s second largest city. Mr. Mukherji was appointed the youngest Commissioner and Chairman in the history of the Jersey City Housing Authority – the state’s second largest housing authority – where he has earned nationwide acclaim for his oversight and various reforms at the $70 million agency serving over 16,000 residents and over 6,700 households
Under his leadership, the JCHA received acclaim for its new anti-crime and social services initiatives; for using stimulus funds to create a “Green-hab Crew” to renovate units using green technologies; for undertaking a multimillion dollar energy efficiency investment that spanned seven of its complexes. Mr. Mukherji also spearheaded the start of a $300 million transformation of the Montgomery Gardens-McGinley Square corridor.

Mr. Mukherji resides in Jersey City.