Congressman Adam Gray takes oath of office in hometown of Merced. Here’s what he said

United States Representative and Merced native Adam Gray, took the oath of office for the second time this month during a ceremonial swearing-in at the Merced County Courthouse Museum in front of family, friends, community members.

Hundreds of people including local elected officials attended the ceremony in which Merced Superior Court Judge John Kirihara administered the oath of office. Gray recited the oath as he placed his hand on a more than 100 year-old bible from the museum’s collection which was held by his mother Candice Adam-Medefind.

Gary addressed the crowd saying how much he appreciated everyone who attended the ceremony.

“I appreciate what you’ve done to make our community as wonderful a place that it is,” he said.

Gray said it was important to him to hold the ceremony in his hometown just a few blocks away from where he grew up. In response to sweeping changes taking place under the new presidential administration, Gray’s message to those he represents in the 13 District of California, is to ignore screaming from the far left and the far right and to focus on what can be done together.

“Governing the United States by executive orders where every four years, depending on which party has the White House, we do the exact opposite thing that doesn’t help anybody, said Gray. “What does help people is creating sustainable bipartisan coalitions that can pass legislation that will be long lasting and impact people’s lives. So I think, as a as a community, let’s not be distracted by silly people saying silly things that aren’t really helpful. Let’s focus on important work that we can do together.”

Immigration reform policy is a priority he plans to develop with the help of his bipartisan colleagues, Gray said.

“Everyone keeps talking about deporting criminals,” he said, and mentioned the border security bills that Republicans have introduced. “Where’s the other side of that, the flip side of the coin?”

Gray added that the majority of immigrants in the Central Valley are law-abiding community members contributing to the economy who need a pathway to citizenship, work permits and secure the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

“I think we have to get serious about having a solution, and I want to work with my Democrat and my Republican colleagues to do that,” Gray said.

About 1.8 million undocumented immigrants live in California, according to the Pew Research Center.

Gray was officially sworn in as part of the 119th Congress on Jan. 3.

This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 12:00 PM.