Former chief deputy Geoff Dean has announced he will run for the post of Ventura County Sheriff—with one caveat.

Dean, 52, said he may not run if current Sheriff Bob Brooks seeks a fourth term as the county's top cop in the 2010 election.

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," Dean said.

Although Brooks, 58, had said he was planning to retire, he told the Acorn earlier this month that he may seek reelection.

Brooks said he is still undecided whether he plans to run again.

"Frankly, we're so embroiled in the economic crisis and the need to make (the department's) budget, that I've put that on the back burner," Brooks said.

If Brooks doesn't run, it will be the first time in more than 30 years that the election for sheriff will include more than a single candidate.

Dean's announcement was made Thursday morning, shortly after the Ventura County Sheriff's Deputies Association released the results of a survey mailed out in late February to its 750 members asking whom they would support in an election.

The union members showed overwhelming support for Dean.

"To have the support of the men and women who are working on the front lines every day is very important to me and quite an honor," Dean said.

The other possible candidates listed on the mailer were Chief Dep. Dennis Carpenter, Oxnard Police Chief John Crombach and Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams, former chief for the Simi Valley Police Department.

About 54 percent of the deputies responded to the survey. Most of them said they favored a sheriff from inside the department.

Of those deputies who favored a sheriff from inside the department, 75 percent said they supported Dean compared to 25 percent who supported Carpenter.

Brooks has openly given his support to Carpenter, 55, should he not seek reelection. Carpenter said he will not announce his candidacy until he knows what Brooks plans to do.

Dean 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 said he plans to return to the department as a commander.

Of the two sheriff's candidates from outside the department, deputies favored Crombach by 71 percent over Adams, who won 29 percent of the vote.

Richard Shimmel, executive director for the deputies union, said the members surveyed were glad to have a chance to weigh in on their choice for the next sheriff.

The union will host a candidates forum later this month, Shimmel said, during which union members will have a chance to ask the candidates questions.

Shimmel said he expects the members to focus on whom the candidates intend to name undersheriff—the sheriff's second in command.

The undersheriff is responsible for much of the day-to-day operations of the department.

The sheriff is a countywide elected official who oversees a department of 1,200 employees with a budget of $132 million.

There are no term limits, and the last contested race for the seat was in 1974.