Former North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan was sworn in Sunday as the U.S. representative for the 1st Congressional District, replacing longtime U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky.

In November, Mrvan, D-Highland, won the election against Republican nominee Mark Leyva and Libertarian nominee Edward Mike Strauss. Mrvan’s win secured a continued Democratic hold on the seat that has been in Democratic Party hands since 1931.

In an interview with Post-Tribune about an hour before being sworn in, Mrvan said he felt excited and a “sense of duty” to serve the 117th Congress.

“It is extremely exciting. It is a moment of pride. It is extremely humbling knowing that I represent 750,000 people in Northwest Indiana and they’ve entrusted me to make decisions that will better their lives and our economy and better quality of life,” Mrvan said.

Mrvan said he arrived to Washington, D.C., Saturday with his wife, Jane, and two daughters. Since his arrival, Mrvan said he has had a “whirlwind” schedule learning the layout of the Capitol, and casting initial votes.

At about 2:20 p.m. Sunday, Mrvan cast his first vote for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, for Speaker of the House. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, representatives were divided into eight groups – alphabetically – to enter the house chambers to cast votes. Mrvan, the final vote for group four, voted for Pelosi, who won her fourth term as speaker.

Mrvan and a group of freshmen members of Congress were sworn in together. Amid the pandemic, his wife was able to be in the gallery with him and his daughters watched a broadcast of the ceremony in his office, Mrvan said.

As congressman, Mrvan said he will focus on increasing access to health care, ensuring a “seamless” roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine, passing an infrastructure bill to get the economy “back on track,” doing “all that we can to support organized labor,” offering a quality education and life for residents in Northwest Indiana.

“Those are my priorities. We were placed on the education and labor committee, and we expect to focus on those every single day,” Mrvan said.

Since winning the election, Mrvan said he spoke with Visclosky. In their conversation, Mrvan said Visclosky shared “his wisdom to make sure we are district-centric,” which is something his father longtime State Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, taught him as well.

“First and foremost, to always remember the people of Northwest Indiana, and those who elected me. I think that’s the most valuable advice he could possibly give, is to do everything you can to stay connected to your constituents. I hold that to be true,” Mrvan said.

On Friday, Mrvan announced in a statement he would relinquish the position of North Township Trustee effective at noon Jan. 2. In the statement, Mrvan said that through his role as trustee and from his family he “understood … the value of servant leadership.”

“By staying resiliently focused and connected with the community, I am proud that we were able to assist so many individuals and families during their times of need. Our focus has been to address the myriad of issues that impacted the hundreds of thousands of residents in the township and the surrounding area,” Mrvan said in the statement.

Mrvan reflected on his time as North Township Trustee, like coordinating with Northern Indiana Information Security and Sharing Alliance to give personal protective equipment and medical supplies to area hospitals and first responders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As trustee, Mrvan said “promoting the mental health of all individuals” has been a priority, specifically mental health resources for veterans. Mrvan also reflected on the office helping to incorporate social workers with four local law enforcement departments “in order to assist in the effectiveness of their operations,” according to the statement.

Mrvan also highlighted working with the local United Steelworkers members, and supporting the workers when they went on strike for safe working conditions and fair wages, according to the statement.

During his time in the North Township Trustee’s office, Mrvan said in the statement the success of the office was made possible by past and present members of the township board, employees, partnership with labor organizations, non-profit organizations and government entities on federal, state and local levels.

As congressman, Mrvan said in the statement he will “recognize that (his) voice and abilities to be an effective member of congress will be augmented by the thousands of voices” of those he met and worked with at the North Township office.

“There remain many challenges before us, and I am ready to continue to do the work that is necessary to address our health crisis and improve our economy for everyone. I look forward to continuing to do all I can to bring people together and support the indispensable work of the trustee office as your federal representative,” Mrvan said in the statement.