Essex County Democrats today picked Amir Jones, the Essex County Undersheriff and the son of Democratic State Chairman LeRoy Jones, Jr., as their candidate for sheriff in the June primary election.
Jones, a fifteen-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, wants to succeed Armando Fontoura, who announced this week that he will not seek re-election after 34 years as Essex County’s top law enforcement officer.
Fontoura attended a meeting of Democratic municipal chairs and strongly supported Jones, the senior undersheriff, to replace him.
Jones runs the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Office’s Field Operations Division, which includes the Patrol Division and the Bureau of Narcotics.
If elected, Jones would become the first Black sheriff in Essex County history, and one of a small number of Black sheriffs in the state.
Jones becomes the third generation of his family to enter politics. His late grandfather, LeRoy Jones, Sr., served as a commissioner of the New Jersey Parole Board.
Fontoura, 81, is closing out a 57-year career in law enforcement; he began as a Newark police officer in 1967 and served as undersheriff before taking on the top post in 1991.