Strange Criticism From Atlantic County, NJ, Sheriff Candidate

First, Sean Riggin criticized Atlantic County, New Jersey Sheriff Joe O’Donoghue for working too long and too hard. Now, here comes another bizarre critique.

About Sean Riggin

Sean Riggin is the retired Chief of Police Chief from the Pleasantville, New Jersey, Police Department.

Riggin is the current civilian director of public safety for the City of Atlantic City.

Riggin is also currently the Democrat Nominee for Atlantic County Sheriff versus incumbent Joe O’Donoghue.

Atlantic County Sheriff Joe O’Donoghue photo.

Riggin Is Running An Unorthodox Campaign

First, Riggin publicly criticized O’Donoghue for not taking a single day off from work in more than 2 1/2 years as Sheriff.

Riggin has promised not to work as hard if he is elected this November 3, 2026.

Here is exactly what Riggin wrote about O’Donoghue’s work habits:

An often-repeated point of pride for my opponent is his record of working 12+ hour days, 7 days a week, with zero days off. This is not a flex. Instead, it's evidence of an outdated mindset about what makes a good cop. As police chief, officer wellness was one of my areas of focus. Burnout is very real in this high stress field, often with tragic consequences for officers and their families. Work-life balance is not an easy ask for cops. For most of us in this field the pull of duty is strong, to the point where clocking out can feel like weakness. This gets compounded when leadership glorifies a zero time off mindset. Recharging matters. Overworked cops are not at their best at work or at home. As sheriff, my proactive officer-wellness strategy will honor and model that principle from the top down. Will Sheriff Riggin be hardworking? Yes, without question. But I'll stay cognizant of the example being set and prioritize choices that promote long term officer resilience, said Riggin.

Translation

It sure does seem as though Sean Riggin is promising in advance of the November 3, 2026 General Election to not work as long or hard as O'Donoghue.

Here Is The Latest Criticism By Riggin, Of O’Donoghue

Riggin is now criticizing O’Donoghue for publicly releasing the names of those persons who they have served warrants.

Here is exactly what Riggin wrote about this topic on his campaign Facebook page:

The Facts

When Joe O'Donoghue became Atlantic County Sheriff — he faced a backlog of more than 7,000 outstanding warrants that had not been properly served.

I have interviewed both O’Donoghue and Undersheriff Mario Suarez. Both have confirmed that by publishing the names of those who have warrants served upon them — it has encouraged others with outstanding warrants to self report.

In other words, it’s working.

Riggin Is Fighting To Keep A Job — Any Job

Why would someone with a nice six-figure job in law enforcement want another job?

Here’s my theory. The position of civilian public safety director is not a necessary one. In fact, in Atlantic City, the position has never worked well.

Many believe that Riggin was only given the job because of politics, and, at the time — Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small was battling multiple bogus criminal indictments.

Small defeated all of the false allegations and won a unanimous acquittal at jury trial.

Small Was Serving Successfully As Mayor & Director of Public Safety

Small is popular within Atlantic City Public Safety. Small has successfully restored more than 50 police officers (with more to come) and he has restored the fire department to respectable staffing levels — this was following the department’s having their ranks dangerously cut by the state of New Jersey.