Iron Workers District Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity president Stephen Sweeney was sworn in as New Jersey Senate president January 12th, making him the second most powerful leader in New Jersey government and the highest-ranking official in the Democratic Party.

Sweeney was officially nominated by a vote of the 23-member Democratic caucus in November. Tuesday, senators confirmed Sweeney as Senate president by a unanimous vote, 36-0.

Sweeney, a senator for eight years, obtained the Senate presidency in a Democratic Party coupe that ousted Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) from the post, which he held for seven years. His official election as president Tuesday touched off 70 seconds of applause, cheers and whistles, especially from Democratic senators and supporters in the gallery.

The Senate president, responsible for steering legislation and enforcing party discipline, controls which bills and appointments reach the chamber for a vote.

Promising to work with the upper house's Republican minority in a bipartisan fashion, Sweeney said, "I am truly honored that you have selected me to be the next Senate president," Sweeney said. "I accept with great humility and I am firmly convinced that New Jersey's best days are ahead."

Among his goals Sweeney wants to help encourage shared public services among local governments as a way to reduce spending, try to restore New Jersey's economy, cut the size of state government, retool the state pension system, improve education, and make the state business friendly.

"We can no longer ignore the amount of money we can save by consolidating government services," Sweeney said."As a state we have not even scratched the surface of that idea."

Promising an effort at bipartisanship, Sweeney said "There will be disagreements along the way no doubt but those difference will shape ideas not gut them."

"We are starting to see signs of economic recovery," Sweeney said."We must be prepared to guide the state into a new era."

Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) was one of the lawmakers who backed Sweeney.

"He's an aggressive agent for change," he said. "We need that."