ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The race to replace Essex County’s longest-serving sheriff is heating up.
Earlier this week, Armando Fontoura recently announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024, setting up a power vacuum in the county that will need to be filled when his term ends.
Fontoura, 81, a Fairfield resident and Democratic Party member, has been a fixture in local politics for decades. He was first elected in 1990. See Related: Essex County’s Longest-Tenured Sheriff Won’t Seek Re-Election
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Two candidates have since stepped up and announced their plans to run for the Democratic Party nomination in the primary election on June 4, and they both have experience in the sheriff’s office: Amir Jones and Gary Nash.
Jones is a 15-year veteran of the force, where he currently serves as undersheriff and directs the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Office’s Field Operations Division. The son of Democratic State Chairman LeRoy Jones Jr., he has received the endorsement of Essex County Democrats, as well as Fontoura’s support, the New Jersey Globe reported.
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Nash is a retired captain with the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, who has more than three decades of experience on the job, including undercover work and leading task forces with other law enforcement agencies. He has received endorsements from Bloomfield Mayor Ted Gamble and a fellow retired sheriff’s officer, Cpt. Jeff Allen Chambers.
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