THE OATH — Fred Abdalla Jr., left, was sworn in as sheriff of Jefferson County on Monday by Probate and Juvenile Court Judge Frank Noble. -- Linda Harris

STEUBENVILLE — Fred Abdalla Jr. was sworn in as sheriff of Jefferson County Monday, an office he’ll hold at least until the Nov. 8 general election.

The Jefferson County Democratic Party Central Committee made it official Monday, selecting Abdalla Jr. to take over the position his father had held for 37 years.

Abdalla said emotions, “not having my father here, are overwhelming, but I am humbled.”

“Obviously, this is not the way I wanted to become sheriff,” Abdalla said after the committee had voted. “I wanted to become sheriff by getting voted in by the people, with my dad by my side taking me around the county. I just hope he’s smiling down and he’s proud.”

A Stratton native, Abdalla graduated from Muskingum College in 1996 and went to the police academy in 1999. He’s worked for Jefferson County Juvenile Court since 1998, initially working with kids assigned to alternative school, then as truancy officer, eventually working his way up to chief probation officer. At the same time, he worked as a patrolman for the Village of Stratton, and for the last 20 years was a member of the Jefferson County Special Response Team.

“My word to you today is I’m going to do this job to the best of my abilities, to make the people of Jefferson County proud, and make you proud,” Abdalla said. “I’m just really thankful. As sheriff I want to do the right thing, to be fair, to be transparent. I want to just do the best I can, the way my dad would expect me to do the job. I’ll try to do everything to what he would have expected me. He always told me if you’re ever in a position to do this job, do it in a way you would want your family to be treated regardless of whether they’re a victim, a witness or a suspect. You treat them the way you would want to be treated. He said how hard would you expect them to work for your family is how long you better work.”

He pledged to “do the best job I can for the citizens of Jefferson County and for the Jefferson County sheriff’s office.”

“I’m going to put my blood, sweat and tears into this, put my heart and soul into this, and hopefully the people will be satisfied and keep me when the time comes for the election,” he said.