BROOKS FACES NO OPPOSITION IN SHERIFF RACE.

Byline: David Greenberg Daily News Staff Writer

For all intents and purposes, Bob Brooks is going to be the new sheriff in Ventura County.

As the deadline for filing nomination papers in races with no incumbent expired Wednesday, Chief Deputy Sheriff Brooks was the lone candidate to replace retiring Sheriff Larry Carpenter.

Brooks credited his department as the reason why no one has stepped forward yet to oppose him in the June 2 election.

``It's a sign of the popularity of the department in this county and the job we're doing,'' he said. ``Frankly, I'm just a representative of the members of this department.''

Although write-in candidates technically have until May 19 to file, such candidates have historically had little drawing power.

``All unopposed candidates have to do is vote for themselves and they're in,'' said Bruce Bradley, assistant registrar of voters.

Brooks, 47, of Newbury Park decided to run for sheriff after 24 years in law enforcement service. He has the endorsement of nearly everyone in the Who's Who of county public safety - Carpenter and District Attorney Michael D. Bradbury are his campaign co-chairmen - and his vision for the department in the new millennium.

Topping Brooks' list of priorities is to set up within three years a $5 million computer information networking system that enables sheriff's deputies, police and Highway Patrol officers access to information on individuals - a warning of any potential danger - even if the suspects have no arrest record.

``It's going to make the law enforcement officer's job both safer and more efficient,'' Brooks said. ``Information is one of our best protections.''

He said he also wants to find permanent funding for the Crime Suppression Unit, now a trial strike unit providing additional support anywhere in the department's jurisdiction.

The nine-member unit, its vehicles and equipment cost about $925,000 annually. The unit made more than 350 arrests in 1997.

``You don't need (the unit) all the time,'' Brooks said. ``You need it when incidents occur. It allows us to throw in a lot of resources early on to take care of a problem.''

Brooks came to Ventura County in 1961 when his family moved from the San Fernando Valley to Thousand Oaks. He attended public schools and a year of Moorpark College before he realized he didn't want to follow his father into the cold-calling world of real estate.

At a friend's suggestion, he signed up to take the Sheriff's Department examination and found himself in a room with 600 applicants vying for five openings at what is now called the Ventura County Criminal Justice Training Center.

``I saw that sea of people - many of whom had been military police in the service or had taken criminal justice classes in college - so I didn't think I had much of a chance,'' Brooks said.

But he made the cut, joined the department in November 1973 and rapidly rose through the ranks, serving as chief deputy the past five years.

During his years with the department, Brooks earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from the University of Redlands and a master's degree in organizational leadership from Regent University's extension course program.

In addition to Bradbury and Carpenter, who is retiring after five years as sheriff, the county's five city police chiefs also have endorsed Brooks.

In the only other race with no incumbent, eight candidates have filed nomination papers to replace outgoing Assessor Glenn Gray.

They are Greg Stratton, Simi Valley mayor; Larry Matheney, assistant county counsel; Des Kester, an assessor's appraiser; Charles Taylor, a tax consultant; Roy Villa, a real estate appraiser; James Dodd, an assessor's tax specialist; Daniel Goodwin, owner of a real estate appraisal company; and Carroll Dean Williams, no occupation listed.

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