From Howell to the Highlands, Monmouth Sheriff Proud of County Roots

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden has spent his entire life living in the county he is now charged with protecting. With such deep roots, Golden, now a Howell resident, said it makes his job that much better knowing he is helping people he has grown up around for the past four decades. 

Having been raised in Matawan, Golden went all the way through schools in the county starting with the now closed St. Joseph's in Keyport before going to St. John Vianney for high school. After that it was on to and finally . And for as long as he can remember, living in the county has included serving the community whether it was as a medic for MONOC, an EMS and volunteer fire fighter in Colts Neck or his brief stint with the Colts Neck Police Department. 

His time at Monmouth University has since come full circle as he has taken his degree in political science with a minor in criminal justice and is now teaching at his alma mater. 

The bulk of his law enforcement career does come from out of the county though as he spent more than 18 years working for the Toms River Police Department. Having spent six years in the department's traffic safety unit and helping with the fatal accidents, Golden said his time with that department proved a valuable experience. "It was a busy traffic unit down there," he said. "That was exciting for me and I learned a lot there."

In addition to his time in traffic safety he also worked on the information technology staff which, he said, helped him get a job with the Monmouth County Sheriff's Department. "When I had an opportunity to come up here and drive the 911 center as undersheriff I took it not knowing that I would someday have a shot at being sheriff," he said. 

After working in Ocean County for all those years, Golden said he was lad to be back in his home county. "It was good to come back. When I worked as a medic I made so many relationships in the county that it was good to come back," he said. "It was fun to come back and reestablish those relationships and teach at Monmouth University and get back to my roots."

He has been with the Sheriff's Department for four and a half years and when former sheriff Kim Guadagno was chosen as Gov. Chris Christie's Lt. Governor he was approached to run for the top spot. With his law enforcement career and his background in political science, Golden said it made sense for him to make a run at the new job. 

The skills he accumulated over the years he said have helped him not only in his first election but also in the other aspects of his job as well. "If you look at the sheriff, in a way it is a political animal because of the election every three years," he said. "You have to run for the office and then after that's said and done you have to conduct the operations."

During his first ever political campaign Golden said he got the chance to visit 5500 residents across the county which helped him realize just how big of an area he was running to represent. He also said he is looking forward to the possibility of running again in two and a half years. "I would like to continue on because I think we're doing a lot of good work," he said. "We have a lot of good issues that we're working on here in the sheriff's office."

It may not have been in his original plans, but as he sits in his office in Freehold, Golden said he enjoys the work he has been doing. "I love working with all the people. I love working with local law enforcement agencies, the police chiefs and fire fighters and EMT's. They've been great in terms of working with people that I can relate to and have had a lot of experience with and making changes," he said.

Many of the ideas he tries to implement have come from discussions with people out in the field from all over the area. "That's where you make an impact in helping out constituents," he said. 

And because he feels such a strong connection to the people of the community, Golden said he does what he can to stay connected to them. "The staff will tell you I pick up the phone sometimes when it rings," he said with a smile. "At the end of the day my clerical staff knows if somebody asks for the sheriff they put them through if I'm here because I think you should be accessible and you should help out wherever you can."

Golden said a lot of his leadership style is based on what he saw from the current Lt. Governor. "She was very straight forward with people whether they liked the answer or not," he said. "She really lead by example and she went through tough times. That was a tumultuous time in terms of layoffs and how the county was dealing with unions. I think her leadership showed through during that time."

That being said, he also knows there is more to consider for his future than just his professional life. "Continuing on comes at a cost in terms of family and personal life because my family has been very supportive, but this is a job that takes every hour of my day for more than eight hours a day," he said. Whether it is dealing with issues involving his department or something in the political field, Golden said he stays very busy. "When the political side is going on and your'e in campaign mode, the time that it takes to be dedicated to keeping up with this job is taxing sometimes."

No matter what the future holds, Golden said he is proud to have the job he does now as a member of a very exclusive club. "There's only 21 sheriffs in New Jersey and only 3000 in the country," he said. "I'm the 76th sheriff and it's an honor to be in this seat."

Having lived in Howell for almost 20 years, Golden said he is also proud to represent not only the people of the township, but all the residents across the area. "I'm very proud of the county. I grew up here and I'm proud to serve the people," he said. "I always say this is the greatest county in the state of New Jersey."

For more information on programs run by the sheriff's department, check out their website.