I am running for re-election because I believe in the mission of the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office and want to continue the work we began in 2024. I bring more than 48 years of law-enforcement experience, including service with the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton Township and Mullica Township Police Departments, followed by 12 years as Sergeant at Arms for the Atlantic County Superior Court, where I managed more than 10,000 eviction cases. I became the first Atlantic County Sheriff to have previously served as an officer in the Sheriff’s Office. My career has included the Medal of Valor, Combat Cross and Life-Saving Award, as well as leadership roles with the Sheriff’s Association of New Jersey and Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey.
As Sheriff, I have focused on restoring a strong countywide public-safety mission, expanding K-9 and search-and-rescue capabilities, implementing Project Lifesaver, strengthening court security, technology, training and partnerships with local, state and federal agencies. I believe effective leadership means protecting the public, respecting constitutional rights, supporting our law-enforcement partners and being accountable to taxpayers. I am seeking another term because there is more work to do and I believe my experience, knowledge of the courts and law enforcement, and commitment to Atlantic County uniquely prepare me to continue serving as Sheriff.
If given the opportunity to undertake one major new initiative, I would establish a Countywide Public Safety Coordination and Intelligence Initiative within the Sheriff’s Office. The goal would be to better connect our specialized resources, technology, training and information with one another and with municipal, county, state and federal partners.
The Sheriff’s Office already provides specialized capabilities including K-9 operations, Project Lifesaver, search and rescue, fugitive investigations and participation in regional federal task-force operations. The next step is making these resources work together even more efficiently.
The initiative would emphasize timely sharing of actionable information, expanded use of appropriate technology, specialized training and measurable performance standards. We should be able to evaluate response times, successful fugitive apprehensions, missing-person recoveries, deployments and training.
This would strengthen cooperation with the Prosecutor’s Office, municipal police departments, New Jersey State Police and federal partners while avoiding unnecessary duplication. My objective is simple: make the Sheriff’s Office more coordinated, better informed and better prepared to respond to emergencies and public-safety threats throughout Atlantic County, while maintaining accountability and responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources.
New Jersey’s Criminal Justice Reform system changed pretrial detention by placing greater emphasis on risk, public safety, court appearance and conditions of release rather than a defendant’s ability to afford monetary bail. The Sheriff’s Office does not decide who is released or detained; those decisions belong to the courts.
For the Sheriff’s Office, the reforms affect courthouse security, prisoner transportation, court proceedings and coordination with judges, prosecutors, Pretrial Services and law-enforcement partners. The system can prevent someone from being jailed simply because they cannot afford bail, while allowing detention when the court determines that release conditions cannot reasonably protect the public or assure appearance.
The Sheriff’s Office should enforce the law as written, protect the courts and public, and provide policymakers with accurate information about operational or public-safety concerns. If we identify recurring problems involving failures to appear, violations of release conditions or new offenses, those issues should be documented and brought forward through the proper channels.
The goal should be a fact-based balance of public safety, constitutional rights and effective administration of justice. If the law changes, the Sheriff’s Office will adapt and continue fulfilling its responsibilities professionally.
Federal immigration enforcement is principally the responsibility of the federal government, while the Sheriff’s Office must enforce New Jersey criminal law and comply with New Jersey law and Attorney General directives. New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive, now codified by state law, generally prohibits state, county and local officers from stopping, questioning, arresting, searching or detaining someone solely because of immigration status and limits voluntary participation in federal civil immigration enforcement, subject to exceptions such as valid judicial warrants or court orders.
My recommendation is to maintain professional relationships with federal law-enforcement agencies while ensuring every Sheriff’s Office employee understands the legal limits of our authority. Federal requests, including immigration detainers, should be handled according to applicable federal and New Jersey law, Attorney General directives and county policies.
We should continue legitimate cooperation with federal partners on criminal investigations and fugitives. The Sheriff’s Office already participates in the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Our mission is to protect Atlantic County, enforce the laws within our jurisdiction, secure our courts, pursue dangerous fugitives and assist victims. We can accomplish that mission while respecting constitutional rights, following New Jersey law and maintaining appropriate cooperation with federal partners.
I am running for Sheriff because I believe Atlantic County deserves professional leadership focused on public service, accountability, and supporting the men and women who keep our communities safe.
I grew up in Atlantic City and have spent more than 30 years serving our community and country. I began my career as a corrections officer, served as a police officer, investigator, commander, and ultimately Chief of Police in Pleasantville. Today, I serve as Atlantic City's Public Safety Director, overseeing police, fire, and beach patrol operations.
My experience also includes military service, emergency management, teaching at the college level, and leading disaster response teams across the country. I hold a master's degree in Disaster Science and have spent my career building teams, managing resources, and making difficult decisions.
I've learned that leadership isn't about the person at the top. It's about building a capable team, giving them the tools to succeed, and holding ourselves accountable to the people we serve.
I'm ready to bring that experience to the Sheriff's Office, strengthen its core services, support local law enforcement, and put the focus where it belongs: on Atlantic County residents and the professionals who serve them.
My new initiative would be to establish a countywide partnership program that supports new ideas and initiatives developed by local police departments.
I believe the best ideas often come from the cops and chiefs closest to the communities they serve. Local departments should lead the way in identifying what their communities need, and the Sheriff’s Office should be there to support those initiatives, fill gaps in capabilities, and provide resources that help turn good ideas into action.
To make that possible, we will conduct a comprehensive review of every post, assignment, and system within the Sheriff’s Office to ensure our personnel are deployed efficiently and our technology is used effectively and responsibly, consistent with the principles of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
The goal is to build a Sheriff's Office that fulfills its core responsibilities while serving as a reliable partner to local law enforcement. Keep decisions close to the communities they affect, give local cops the support they need, and make the best use of every resource entrusted to us.
Bail reform made an important change: the decision to detain someone before trial should be based on risk to the community, not their ability to post cash bail.
I've seen firsthand how keeping people charged with serious violent offenses in custody, when justified by the evidence and the law, can interrupt cycles of retaliatory violence. Separating those who pose a genuine threat from the community while awaiting trial is an important public safety tool.
But reform also exposed a serious gap in our social safety net. When I worked at the county jail, we routinely housed people struggling with mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. Jail was never the right solution for many of them, but we haven't built adequate alternatives. Too many are now cycling between the streets, emergency rooms, and the criminal justice system.
The Sheriff's Office must fulfill its core responsibilities while supporting local police, outreach teams, and social service providers working to close those gaps.
We need to revisit outdated funding formulas, strengthen treatment and outreach systems, and have a serious conversation about the people who are suffering, and sometimes dying, on our streets.
Bail reform addressed an important injustice. Now we need to finish the work. Public safety demands both accountability and compassion.
Federal immigration enforcement priorities are creating fear in communities where Atlantic County law enforcement has spent decades building trust. When victims are afraid to report crimes or witnesses are reluctant to cooperate with police, offenders can continue their conduct, victims are left unsupported, and everyone is less safe.
The Sheriff's Office should follow New Jersey law, maintain clear boundaries between local policing and federal civil immigration enforcement, and ensure that every resident feels safe reporting a crime or asking for help.
We also need an honest conversation about resources. Atlantic County faces serious challenges with homelessness, addiction, and untreated mental illness. These are the problems affecting our neighborhoods, public spaces, and tourism economy every day.
Imagine what we could accomplish if more resources were directed toward treatment, housing, and effective outreach instead of broad immigration enforcement efforts that undermine community trust.
My priority would be to fulfill the Sheriff's Office's legal responsibilities, protect the relationships our local police have worked so hard to build, and focus our limited resources on the public safety problems affecting Atlantic County residents, workers, and visitors.
