Essex County’s Longest-Tenured Sheriff Won’t Seek Re-Election

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County’s longest-serving sheriff is calling it quits.

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.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office confirmed the announcement with Patch, adding that Fontoura plans to finish the remainder of his term.

Fontoura, 81, a Fairfield resident and Democratic Party member, has been a fixture in local politics for decades. He was first elected in 1990.

Before taking office in Essex County, Fontoura rose through the ranks of the Newark Police Department, launching his law enforcement career in 1967. Along with his law enforcement background, Fontoura previously worked as a teacher in the Newark public school system after earning his bachelor's degree in education at Newark State Teacher's College, now Kean University.

Fontoura was re-elected by a landslide in 2021 after fending off a primary election challenge from John Arnold Jr. and triumphing in a general election versus Nicholas Pansini (drawing a whopping 76.87 percent of the vote against his Republican opponent).

The Essex County Sheriff’s Office is the largest such department in the state of New Jersey, and likewise serves the state’s largest Superior Court vicinage.

Fontoura got a fond farewell message from U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), who praised the sheriff’s six decades of public service, including his work with the county’s vaccination program during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside [Fontoura] to serve Garden State families and I will miss partnering with him to make life better for families in Essex County,” the congresswoman said. “I wish Sheriff Fontoura the best in retirement.”

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