Jack Ciattarelli has selected Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, a veteran law enforcement official from Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s district, as the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.
Gannon, 64, is a former beat cop from Boonton who rose to the position of deputy chief of investigations in the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, where he handled over 120 homicide cases and served on the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. He has been elected sheriff three times, twice by landslide margins and once unopposed.
The pick reinforces Ciattarelli’s law-and-order message with crossover appeal and adds a running mate with strong support in Morris County, where Republicans worry Sherrill could gain ground. Gannon, as sheriff, has maintained a cordial relationship with his congresswoman, who has occasionally praised him across party lines.
In 2016, former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey, who was representing part of Morris County in the State Senate, broke with his party to endorse Gannon for sheriff.
A formal announcement is scheduled for tomorrow at Johnnies Tavern, a self-proclaimed dive bar in Boonton.
Ciattarelli chose Gannon over four other finalists: State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-River Vale), Assemblyman Michael Inganamort (R-Chester), Middletown Mayor Tony Perry, and Nick De Gregorio, a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran from Fair Lawn. Assemblyman Don Guardian (R-Atlantic City) was also under consideration.
The son of a decorated NYPD detective, Gannon grew up in an Irish-Polish household; like Ciattarelli, he grew up in a small town under middle-class circumstances. He was a volunteer firefighter, an ambulance squad member, a drum major with the Police Pipe & Drums of Morris County, and co-founder of the Morris County Emerald Society. Each Christmas, he’d dress as Santa for local children.
Working with Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, Gannon collected teddy bears – he called the “Feel Better Bears” – to distribute to small children encountering law enforcement in the line of duty. He worked with Kevin O’Toole, the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a former state senator who represented part of Morris County, to combat food insecurity issues.
He’s worked on school safety initiatives and shared service agreements with other sheriff’s offices. Gannon has led training sessions for law enforcement agencies worldwide.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Gannon was dispatched to Lower Manhattan to assist in interviews and rescue efforts. As sheriff, he formed the Morris County Cold Case Unit to pursue unsolved crimes.
In 1985, as a young patrolman, he tracked down a thief who had stolen a donation canister for a six-year-old boy with Cystic Fibrosis – on his own time, using traditional police work.
In the 2000s, Gannon led the FuncoLand Homicide Task Force, which solved the high-profile murders of two video game store employees in Roxbury after nearly a year of investigation. He also helped crack the case of 10-year-old Walter Contreras’s murder in Morristown and has spent decades pursuing the 1982 shooting death of 16-year-old Christopher Thomas at the Rockaway Townsquare Mall. Gannon worked with the FBI on the team investigating the kidnapping and murder of Exxon executive Sidney Reso.
A Boonton resident, Gannon has one daughter and two grandchildren. Before becoming sheriff, he served as the global head of Security Risk at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. He serves as vice chairman of the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital and as an adjunct professor at Centenary College.
He’s also endured personal loss: his wife of 26 years died in 2010 after battling multiple sclerosis, and his brother, Superior Court Judge Edward V. Gannon, died in 2016 just days after James entered the sheriff’s race. Their father passed from cancer in 1993.
Gannon received an associate degree in law enforcement from Morris County College and a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration from William Paterson University. He trained at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Sherrill has until July 28 to name her running mate.
This is the second time Ciattarelli has selected a lieutenant governor candidate; he selected former State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) as his running mate in 2021.
Entering Politics
Gannon launched his first campaign in 2016 before eight-term GOP Sheriff Edward Rochford announced his retirement. His campaign gained momentum quickly – enough to push Rochford out of the race within seven weeks.
Gannon defeated retired Bloomfield police detective John Sierchio in the Republican primary, 65%-35%, and beat Democrat Mark Dombrowski in the general election by 41,445 votes, 63%-37%. Gannon outperformed both Donald Trump and Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen in Morris County that year.
After his election, the Morris County Board of Freeholders returned control of the county jail to the sheriff’s office – authority they had stripped from Rochford amid disputes over overtime and union contracts.
In 2020, some Republicans tried to recruit Gannon to challenge Sherrill for Congress, but he declined.
He won re-election in 2019 with 59% of the vote against Democrat William Schievella, after defeating Sierchio again in a primary rematch with 65%. By 2022, Gannon ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections.
As sheriff, Gannon emphasized community policing, addiction services, and an enhanced response to people experiencing a mental health crisis. Modernizing technology for law enforcement, his office was among the first in the state to mandate the use of body-worn cameras. Gannon helped launch Hope One, which won national recognition for targeting opioid addiction, mental health issues, and homelessness through a mobile outreach program.
Politically, Gannon has been unafraid to take sides in Republican primaries. He was an early supporter of State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Montville) and Assemblymen Jay Webber (R-Morris Plains) and Brian Bergen (R-Denville) when they faced primary challenges in 2023, and he backed Parsippany Mayor James Barberio in a hotly contested GOP primary this year.
This year, he’s on the ballot for a fourth term as sheriff; just like in 2022, Democrats did not field a candidate. He may remain on the ballot – similar to Sheila Oliver, who sought re-election to the Assembly while running for lieutenant governor in 2017 – but can hold only one office. If elected to the governor’s office, Ciattarelli would nominate a replacement sheriff, subject to Senate confirmation, with a subsequent three-year election in 2026.
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