Sheriff Scheffler stands up for his personnel and asks for an apology from his opponent

Dear Atlantic County Residents,

In about a month, the results of this year’s local election will determine who your Sheriff is for the next three years. I have the confidence that your pick will be me and I say that because of the confidence that I have in all of YOU. Between being raised here, raising my children here, and involving myself heavily in Atlantic County policing, education, politics and community engagement, I know the depth of goodness in Atlantic County residents.  

I have been intentionally not addressing any of the nonsense that my political opponent has chosen to run his campaign on. And while I have very little faith that my opponent will all-of-the-sudden gain a conscience or integrity, the untrue statements and misleading comments he’s spewing are negatively affecting the lives of the women and men that serve my office. It needs to be said that these are real people, with real jobs and real families, they are not pawns to manipulate for this bad show being put on. He is hurting members of my team and Atlantic County Residents with unrelentless lying on the radio, in union meetings, to civic groups and on videos for social media. These attacks have been directed at our Hope One members, the chief warrant officer, our investigators and most recently the leadership and work ethic of our warrant squad.

With every deserved recognition; 

Hope One is a respected initiative that has been helping Atlantic County residents with mental health and addiction services for years now. Every day, the members of Hope One are positively impacting, changing, and saving the lives of their fellow residents. It is inspiring to be a part of helping create sustainability in a community resource that my opponent would look to dismantle. There are a lot of really good people dedicated to keeping this program running, solely to help other individuals improve their own livelihoods.

Our chief warrant officer, investigators, and warrant squad are some of the hardest working and most decorated officers in my department. Our warrant squad is led by a lieutenant and two sergeants. Under the leadership of the current lieutenant, they have accomplished an unprecedented rate of closing out active warrants. The Sheriff’s department deals with warrants for wanted-persons and for child-support, both of which require investigation and sacrifice in the field. It is a dangerous job to be in pursuit of criminals that have warrants out for their arrest, and my officers do their jobs in the utmost successful and professional manner. They are highly trained, and highly respected throughout our entire department. Both in and out of the Atlantic County Sheriff’s office, the quality of life for my employees is of top importance to me. 

The officers and civilians that work in the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office continue to serve honorably and do not deserve to have their integrity, work ethic and qualifications questioned for my opponent’s political gain. As the Atlantic County Sheriff, I will continue to support all of my employees, sworn and civilian, in an appreciative manner and applaud them for their unceasing professionalism and respectability. Atlantic County residents should know that the men and women of my office work every day to the best of their ability. I am honored to serve as their executive officer.

In finality, I suggest that my opponent have some dignity and cease and desist the attacks on my personnel, retracting the misleading and false statements and sending a public apology to the hard-working men and women of the Atlantic County Sheriff’s office. I am well aware that these dirty tactics are commonplace in political races. However, I choose to run a clean campaign based on my visions for the future of our county. I choose to run a clean campaign highlighting my accomplishments thus far in achieving that vision. I choose to run a clean campaign because I was raised to take action with integrity and purpose. And on November 3rd I will be proud to say I ran a clean campaign to set a positive example in leadership for the good people of Atlantic County, the Atlantic County Sheriff’s office, my family, and myself.  

Sincerely,

Sheriff Eric Scheffler