For the first time in more than 30 years, there might be a race for Ventura County Sheriff.

The yearlong campaign, expected to start this summer, has many in the department predicting it will be one of the most politically charged races in the 2010 election.

Last week, the Ventura County Sheriff's Deputies Association—the union that represents 750 deputies and investigators in the district attorney's office—mailed members a survey with the names of four potential candidates to gauge whom the union members would back in the countywide race.

The possible candidates listed on the mailer include former Chief Dep. Geoff Dean, Chief Dep. Dennis Carpenter, Oxnard Police Chief John Crombach and Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams, who was the former chief for Simi Valley Police Department.

None of the four has officially announced his intention to run for sheriff, but all said they would consider a bid for the post.

Sheriff Bob Brooks said he hasn't decided whether he plans to run again or retire.

"I'm still weighing my options," he said.

Brooks, who's in his third term and has been in the department for 36 years, said he thinks the survey might be a "little confusing" to the union members who received the mailer last week.

"I think I probably would have preferred the survey be conducted when everything was a little bit more solidified from their point of view, but the association certainly has the right to do that," he said.

Brooks, 58, said if he were to retire, he would make the announcement before candidates can officially declare their candidacy in June.

When asked which of the four candidates he would endorse, Brooks said, "I would support Chief Dep. Dennis Carpenter."

Carpenter, 55, who headed the Thousand Oaks Police Department as a commander, was promoted by Brooks to the rank of chief deputy, a post he took last month. A 35-year veteran of law enforcement, Carpenter replaced former Chief Dep. Chris Godfrey, who retired.

Dean, 52, was asked by Brooks to step down from his position with the department in June 2008, six months before Carpenter's promotion. Because Dean's demotion is considered a personnel matter, top officials would not comment.

Dean, who also said he would not comment on the matter and has been on administrative leave, contested Brooks' decision to demote him. Because the chief deputy is appointed by the sheriff, Dean said, he hopes to return to the department as a commander.

Richard Shimmel, executive director for the deputy's union, said it's the first time during his 10year tenure with the Venturabased union that it has sent out a survey to determine which candidate members would support.

"We're just trying to gauge how the members feel right now about those individuals or whether they indicate support for someone who hasn't expressed interest in running," Shimmel said.

It's too early to tell who leads the poll, he said, but an announcement will likely be made by March 18.

The sheriff is a countywide elected official who oversees a department of 1,200 employees with a budget of $132 million. In addition to patrolling the unincorporated areas of the county, the department is contracted to patrol Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ojai, Fillmore and Moorpark.

There are no term limits, and the last contested race for the seat was in 1974. Al Jalaty won election that year. He was succeeded by John Gillespie in 1984. Larry Carpenter, no relation to Dennis Carpenter, took over as sheriff in 1992 and held the post until Brooks was elected in 1998.

Crombach, 55, has been in law enforcement for 31 years and began as a deputy with the sheriff's department.

He has been the Oxnard police chief since 2005 and oversees a staff of 400 and a budget of $50 million, according to the Oxnard Police Department's website.

His wife of 17 years, Danita, is the communications manager for the sheriff's department.

Adams, who began his career in law enforcement 37 years ago, served as the police chief in Simi Valley for more than seven years and served with the Ventura Police Department for 23 years.

In 2003, Adams was named Glendale police chief. The Glendale Police Department has more than 500 employees and a budget of $63.2 million, according to its website.