There's a clear choice for Gloucester County sheriff for the next three years, and it's Democrat incumbent Carmel Morina.

Morina was an unknown quantity when he first ran for the job in 2006. The Democrats put him on the ballot in place of two-term Sheriff Gil Miller. Although Morina was chief of the Greenwich Township Police Department at the time, it was unclear how he'd do running the larger sheriff's department.

In his close to three years at the helm, Morina's performance has answered positively any substantial questions.

Perhaps anyone who took over after Miller would have had an easier time being sheriff, since county freeholders during Miller's tenure spun off the county jails from the sheriff's duties; there's now a separate Department of Corrections. Incidents regarding prisoners, the facilities or strife in the correction's officers' unit all of which Miller faced are no longer the sheriff's problem.

The sheriff still gets a $100,000-plus salary that may not be justified by the reduced responsibilities. But Morina has done as much with what is under his purview as may be humanly possible.

The incumbent is rightly proud of improving the sheriff's officers prisoner transport function to the degree that routine complaints are no longer heard from local police chiefs about having to use precious manpower (especially during short-staffed overnight shifts) to accompany suspects to the county lockup. Morina has also integrated a bomb-sniffing dog, and wants to expand the department's K-9 unit.

In addition, Morina gets much of the credit for the success of the county's Operation Lifesaver program, which provides GPS bracelets to people with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. The program offers peace of mind to family members who are caregivers, knowing that their loved one can be tracked if he or she runs off.

Such programs push at the boundaries of what a sheriff's department is "supposed" to do, but if they are worthwhile and inexpensive, like Operation Lifesaver, why not undertake them?

Another reason to choose Morina is that his Republican opponent this year, Chris Marrero, shows some disdain for sheriff's officers' more traditional work, such as court security. It may be true that it doesn't require police-trained officers to run metal detectors at county court buildings, or to guard the county sewer plant 24/7! But Marrero doesn't articulate a clear vision of how he'd use the officers instead.

Marrero is retired after 25 years as a Pennsauken police detective. He has enough law enforcement experience to be sheriff. However, he's thin on details about what he'd do if elected, and lacks Morina's broad administrative experience.

Sheriff Carmel Morina has earned a second term, and deserves voters' support on Nov. 3.