ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Democratic candidate Sean Riggin says he would make significant changes at the top of the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office if elected in November, but don't expect him to build his campaign around attacks on incumbent Sheriff Joe O'Donoghue.
“I didn't get into the race because I think there's a problem with the current sheriff,” Riggin said Tuesday during an appearance on The Don Williams Show on WOND (M-F 6-10am). “I got into the race because I want to be the sheriff.”
Riggin, Atlantic City's public safety director and a former Pleasantville police chief, is challenging Republican incumbent O'Donoghue in the Nov. 3 general election.
Asked directly what he believes is wrong with the current Sheriff's Office, Riggin declined the invitation to criticize O'Donoghue personally.
“I've known the sheriff for 30 years, and I'm not going to engage in that kind of stuff,” Riggin said.
“It's not the kind of campaign that I want to run,” he added. “It's not the kind of sheriff that I want to be.”
That doesn't mean Riggin is promising the status quo.
Asked later whether he would “clean house” if elected, Riggin said changes would be made at the leadership level.
“I think that obviously we would be looking to clean out the executive ranks,” Riggin said. “So, you know, certainly we would make a lot of changes there.”
But Riggin said he would look to retain and work with existing Sheriff's Office employees wherever possible.
“We'll definitely make some big changes, but I think the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office can feel safe,” Riggin said.
Back-to-Basics Plan
Riggin's comments build on the “back-to-basics” platform he outlined in an earlier interview on Off The Press with Scott Cronick on WOND (M-F 4-6pm).
As South Jersey NewsBeat reported last week, Riggin said he wants the Sheriff's Office to concentrate on safe courts, prisoner transportation, warrants and legal services before expanding into other areas.
One of his primary proposals is for the county to assume a greater role transporting prisoners for municipal police departments.
Riggin previously said a prisoner transport that once took about 30 minutes can now occupy a municipal police officer for two, four or even six hours.
For a smaller department such as Pleasantville, he said, taking one officer away from a five-officer patrol shift effectively removes 20% of the city's street-level police resources.
Riggin returned to the issue Tuesday.
“One of the things that the sheriff's department has struggled with for a very long time is trying to provide some sort of services to local police departments when it comes to the area of prisoner transportation,” Riggin said. “I think that's high on my list.”
But Riggin said he doesn't want to assume he knows what every municipal department needs.
Having previously served as president of the Atlantic County Association of Chiefs of Police, Riggin said his approach would be to ask the chiefs themselves.
“I think we need to go to the local chiefs and say, listen, what do you need?” Riggin said. “And then make that our to-do list for the sheriff's department.”
Riggin said the Sheriff's Office must first perform its traditional responsibilities.
“First thing we have to do is create safe courts and safe places,” he said. “Then we've got to provide safe services for the legals and the sort of things the sheriff does administratively. We need to maintain our warrant function.”
After those responsibilities are met, Riggin said, remaining resources should be directed toward helping local departments.
“The very moment that we have free bandwidth, we need to be giving that to the local police departments in whatever way they need,” Riggin said. “And I don't think that's something that's happening right now.”
Republican Pick for Leadership Team
Riggin also pointed to retired Atlantic City Deputy Police Chief Bridget Pierce as an example of how he intends to approach leadership if elected.
Pierce, who became Atlantic City's first female deputy police chief, recently joined Riggin's team and would be part of his senior leadership in the Sheriff's Office if he wins.
Riggin noted that Pierce is a Republican while he is a Democrat.
“I think that shows that what we're after is a really back-to-basics approach,” Riggin said.
“If your party matters that much for what you're doing as the sheriff, you're probably doing it wrong,” he added. “I'm not interested in getting into national politics and all that stuff. We're interested in running the sheriff's department and fulfilling their core function.”
Riggin returned to that theme when Williams asked him about divisions within the Democratic Party nationally.
Riggin described himself as a lifelong Democrat but said partisan ideology should have little bearing on running a law enforcement agency.
“I think this tribal nonsense, I think it's crap,” Riggin said. “I don't think it's good for anybody.”
“In law enforcement, we can't take sides,” he added.
A Career in Public Safety
Riggin has more than three decades of public-safety experience.
He grew up in Atlantic City and attended Atlantic City schools before moving to Maryland during high school. He later served in the U.S. Army, including a deployment to Bosnia as a civil affairs specialist.
After returning to South Jersey, Riggin worked as an Atlantic County corrections officer and drill instructor before building a career in municipal law enforcement.
He eventually served six years as Pleasantville police chief and later worked as a state police monitor in Atlantic City.
Riggin was appointed Atlantic City's public safety director in February 2025. In that position, he oversees the city's major public-safety operations, including police, fire and the Beach Patrol.
He said those experiences have shaped his belief that the Sheriff's Office should serve as a countywide partner for municipal departments rather than attempt to duplicate their work.
A Different Kind of Sheriff's Race
Riggin's decision not to directly attack O'Donoghue doesn't erase the differences between the candidates.
O'Donoghue has made aggressive warrant enforcement and fugitive apprehension highly visible parts of his tenure, including the recent creation of a new Top 10 Most Wanted list.
Riggin is emphasizing a different management philosophy — one built around traditional Sheriff's Office responsibilities and using county resources to relieve pressure on municipal departments.
He said Tuesday that voters shouldn't expect him to turn those differences into personal attacks.
“I've spent a long time trying to create a reputation as a professional and, frankly, as a nice guy,” Riggin said.
“If I start getting into the weeds of what this guy's doing wrong,” he said, “I don't think that's good for anybody.”
About the Author
Scott Stephens
Scott has been an on-air personality, producer and newscaster for 30+ years. He has been a mainstay in the South Jersey Community and on the air across many different area stations. Scott can currently be heard on Kool 98.3 and News Talk 1400 & 92.3 WOND.
