Who’ll Win GOP Support for Sheriff?

COURT HOUSE – The Cape May County Republican Committee will decide between two former colleagues vying for the party’s support in this year’s race for Cape May County Sheriff. 
Incumbent Sheriff Gary Schaffer has announced that he will not seek another term when his expires this year. He’s endorsed his undersheriff, Robert Nolan, for the post.
Meanwhile, Richard Harron of Lower Township, a retired sheriff’s officer, is also campaigning for the seat.
They are meeting with Republican committee members, who will decide, by secret ballot vote, who gets the party’s support at a special convention planned March 13 at the Avalon Community Center.
Both men cite their experience with the Sheriff’s Department. They went through training together decades ago, and their careers overlapped in the department, although Nolan said they rarely worked together.
Asked if running against a colleague would be uncomfortable, Harron said, “Not for me it isn’t.”
County Republican Chairman Marcus Karavan said that interested candidates have until Feb. 15 to submit a letter of intent if they’d like the party’s support, not only for the sheriff’s office but the other county seats up for election this year.
Those posts include the county Surrogate’s seat held by M. Susan Sheppard, two seats on the freeholder board, held by Will Morey, president and CEO of Morey’s Piers, and Jeffrey Pierson, a retired Army National Guard brigadier general, who was sworn in November to fill the vacant seat of Kristine Gabor, who resigned.
Each municipality has a Republican and Democrat committee, with members elected by district in the primary election. Karavan said the process for deciding who gets the party’s support is as simple and as open as it can be, with committee members casting votes March 13.
“There’s no mysticism here. That’s the process across the board,” he said.
Nolan and Harron both said they’ve been meeting with GOP committee members, campaigning for their support. After the vote, there is still a possibility of taking the matter to the June primary.
Nolan said he would abide by the committee majority, while Harron declined to comment, either way, saying he wanted to keep a positive message focused on the March convention.
Harron, 52, of Villas, said he had a 25-year career in the Sheriff’s Department, most of it in the Correctional Center. The Sheriff’s Department also has a law enforcement side, responsible for security at the Superior Court, county parks, and numerous other duties, including a K-9 division, and overseeing the county Animal Shelter.
Retired, Harron spent his last seven years in the department as the Warden of the Correctional Center. He said he came back to duty for two years to help complete an electronic monitoring program for the jail.
“I made a pitch to come back to get that squared away,” he said.
Harron said he supports a plan to construct a $37-million jail, but not without reservations.
“Something had to be done,” he said. Designed for 120 prisoners, the jail holds far more than that, 352 at its peak, he said. He added that there were also issues with plumbing and electricity at the aging facility.
But he has concerns that proposed bail reforms could mean a drop in the local inmate population, and he fears the county may fill those beds with inmates from other areas, or even from out of state, to cover the expense of the new facility.
He said if that were to happen, he would not like to see those inmates then released in Cape May County when their sentences end.
Harron was critical of the department, saying that as he talks with law enforcement officers in the county, many tell him they feel they do not get enough support from the department and that Sheriff’s Officers do not feel that they get enough support from within, regarding their jobs and their careers.
Nolan, 58, sees numerous accomplishments during his career in the department. He cited a system that allows families to visit inmates virtually through a remote, Internet system, which he said is cheaper and safer for the officers.
He also said the department was one of the first to use officers’ body cameras, starting in the jail. There are numerous cameras in the jail already, but he said there still were complaints from some inmates, and in some instances, it was a matter of the inmate’s word against the officer.
He said there were numerous other improvements as well.
“I’ve been actively out there engaging in a campaign to discuss with committee members why I feel that I’m the best candidate,” Nolan said. A former Lower Township councilman, Nolan started with the Sheriff’s Department in 1984, after the Everlon Fabrics plant closed at the Cape May County Airport.
In 1987, he attended the Cape May County Police Academy. He has worked his way through the ranks to become undersheriff.
Whoever gets the nomination will be on the ballot in November, where he could potentially face a fresh race for the seat against an independent or a Democrat.
A call to the county Democratic organization was not immediately returned. It’s been years since the Democrats have had a sheriff candidate.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.