Sheriffs in New Jersey tend to be popular. The name alone conjures up a romanticized image of a Wyatt Earp-like figure protecting his community from all types of evil.

Things are not the same in 2019 New Jersey, but sheriffs, generally speaking, still enjoy the widespread political acclaim that enables them to stay around for awhile. Just look at Morris County, where Jim Gannon is only the fourth man to wear the sheriff’s badge in the last 70 years.

“The job is great,” Gannon said Monday at an event at the Netcong train station. So, it’s hardly an upset that Gannon plans to run again this year for what would be his second, three-year term. A formal campaign kickoff is upcoming, but Gannon is already running – or maybe, he never stopped, 

He had five events on Sunday, including a breakfast in Mine Hill, a radio appearance on local station WMTR and a 90th birthday celebration for the owner of the iconic Reservoir Tavern in Parsippany.

For most of those aforementioned seven decades, the only political problem for sheriffs came from within. It was back in 1992 when then-Sheriff John M. Fox, who began many of the programs still in place today, was defeated in the GOP primary by Ed Rochford, who stayed around for 24 years before retiring. Rochford’s only viable challenge over the years came in the 2010 primary from Steve Olimpio, a Paterson police officer living in Kinnelon.

Democrats were never a factor in the race for county sheriff. Many candidates were just names on the ballot who did little campaigning.

Have things changed?

Morris Democrats, fresh from last fall’s congressional triumphs, are more energized these days, but it still seems a stretch for them to come up with a serious, well-financed candidate for sheriff. The party is more likely to concentrate on Legislative District 25, where its two Assembly candidates announced two months ago, and perhaps District 26, where the party faithful must be salivating at the chance of trying to unseat Assemblyman Jay Webber, assuming he runs again. 

As for Gannon, he is embodying the old cliche that good policy is good politics,

Monday morning found him and the department’s Hope One van parked at the Netcong train station with coffee and pastries available. The van outreach began in April, 2017, with the simple, but important, goal of combating addiction, especially to opioids. Run in conjunction with various social service agencies, the van visits locations around the county for five hours a day, twice a week offering help to those in need. The van is staffed by an officer, a clinician and a certified peer recovery specialist who understand the help addicts need.

Since it began traveling about, Gannon said the van has made about 6,000 contacts with the public. The need can’t be overestimated. Gannon said there were 3,118 opioid-related deaths in New Jersey last year; 84 of which occurred in Morris County.

The Hope One van is even spreading its wings. The counties of Atlantic, Cape May and Monmouth have begun similar programs, as has the city of Newark, Gannon said. And a small group of Burlington County law enforcement officials journeyed up to Netcong Monday to check out the van.

Mike Ditzel, a chief in the Burlington Sheriff’s Department, said instituting a Hope One-like van in his county is a very real possibility.

Gannon says that once you strip away the relative glitz of the sheriff’s office and the everyday travails of party politics, the job comes down to helping people improve their lives. That’s a pretty tough concept to run against.