Montco Sheriff Kilkenny to Become President of PA Sheriff’s Association
(From a press release)
Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny will be officially sworn in as the incoming president of the Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association (PSA) at the organization’s 101st Annual Conference in York, PA, on Friday, July 12, 2024. Sheriff Kilkenny will be taking the helm of one of the commonwealth’s foremost law enforcement advocacy organizations, dedicated to supporting Pennsylvania’s 67 county sheriffs’ offices.
Honored guests will include Sen. Bob Casey, Dave McCormick, former Auditor General and York State Representative Eugene DePasquale, and York District Attorney Dave Sunday. He will be sworn in by his friend and former law partner, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Dan McCaffery.
“I am deeply honored to serve as your President for the next year,” said Kilkenny. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me, especially my family. My mother, Lorraine Kilkenny, a retired public school teacher, and my late father, Patrick Kilkenny, an Army veteran and police officer, who instilled in me the values of public service. I also want to thank my wife, Betsy, and my daughters, Maddi and Gabbi, for their unwavering support.”
Kilkenny also extended his appreciation to his fellow sheriffs, particularly outgoing Sheriff John Zechman and new First Vice President Jim Ott, the PSA staff and consultants, and the many friends and colleagues who have supported him throughout his career. He highlighted the significant contributions of Chief Deputy Adam Berry and the entire Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) team; sworn deputies, staff and representation, for their commitment to service and upholding the MCSO’s core values of honesty, integrity and transparency.
Kilkenny is dedicated to enhancing the indispensable role the PSA plays in highlighting the common interests, concerns and accomplishments of the state’s diverse sheriffs’ offices. His goals for the upcoming year include advocating for legislative changes to grant investigatory powers to highly trained deputies, increasing PSA membership to fund continuing education and lobbying efforts, and promoting legislation and innovation that promotes greater efficiency and transparency.
Kilkenny is the third Montgomery County Sheriff to serve as PSA president and the first in more than 70 years, following William H. Fox in 1926 and Samuel L. Glass in 1952.
As he begins his term as president of the PSA, Kilkenny calls on the support of all 67 county sheriffs to work together for the betterment of the profession and the safety of the communities they serve.
The Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association is dedicated to supporting the 67 county sheriffs of Pennsylvania in their mission to protect and serve the citizens of the Commonwealth. Through advocacy, education, and collaboration, the PSA strives to enhance the effectiveness and professionalism of sheriff’s offices throughout Pennsylvania.
Sean P. Kilkenny was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019 and 2023 as the Sheriff of Montgomery County, the third largest county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with over 850,000 residents. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has about one hundred sworn Deputies and two dozen administrative staff members. The MCSO’s core responsibilities are courthouse security, prisoner transport, and personal service of criminal warrants and legal documents. In addition to these core responsibilities, the MCSO has robust bomb disposal and canine units.
Since taking office in 2016, Sheriff Kilkenny has directed the MCSO to focus on transparency, innovation, diversity and professionalism. To promote transparency, the MCSO became the first sheriff’s office in the Commonwealth to implement body cameras for Deputies. The MCSO was also the first Sheriff’s Office in Pa. to take sheriff’s sales online and was one of the first to implement online gun permitting and e-filing of civil cases.
Before being elected Kilkenny served his country as an officer on both active duty and in the Army Reserves for more than two decades. Now a retired lieutenant colonel, he began his military career as a paratrooper and federal prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He served overseas in Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, and South Korea.
In addition to his elected position, Kilkenny serves as the managing partner of Kilkenny Law, LLC, which has 15 attorneys, and staff who provides legal counsel on real estate, zoning, and litigation matters to municipalities, corporations, and individuals throughout the Philadelphia suburbs. Kilkenny and his Firm serve as Solicitor to numerous Townships, Boroughs, Zoning Boards, and School Districts.
Kilkenny has served on the board of trustees of Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) since 2013, where, in 2017, he established an endowed scholarship to support educational endeavors of deputies and Staff pursuing associate degree programs. In 2023, he partnered with Penn State Abington to expand the scope of breadth of the scholarship to include all Montgomery County employees seeking four-year degrees.
Kilkenny is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff Training Program. His civilian education includes a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, a master’s degree of public administration from the University of South Carolina, a law degree from Temple University, and a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University.
The sheriff resides in Jenkintown with his wife and two daughters. When out of the office, he can be found jogging, reading history, and cheering on the Phillies and Villanova Basketball.
