By Alyana Alfaro • 08/31/16 11:49am
Manuel Alfonso, 47, is the first Latino to pursue the position of Bergen County Sheriff and score a major party endorsement. The Cuban American Republican entered the race earlier this year after a January party switch by incumbent Sheriff Michael Saudino from Republican to Democrat left the GOP scrambling for a candidate.
While Alfonso has never run for office before, the candidate is a 26-year veteran in law enforcement. Currently he works as a high-ranking official in a government agency but says that he cannot disclose information about his department or position for campaign purposes due to ethics violations. In the past, Alfonso worked with the FBI joint terrorism task force for five years and with the U.S. Marshals Service.
