The Willow Glen Resident

Sheriff's race heats up as Gillingham bows out

Two candidates discuss the issues

By Pam Marino

The primary is six months away, but the Santa Clara County sheriff's race is already heating up, especially since the recent announcement by Sheriff Chuck Gillingham that he will not seek re-election.

Gillingham said he is running instead for a seat on the San Jose City Council. That decision leaves the sheriff's race wide open, and three candidates have already jumped into the fray, with the possibility of one or two more joining in.

Assistant sheriffs Ruben Diaz and Tom Sing and Sgt. Jose Salcido have all joined the race, while San Jose Police Chief Lou Cobarruviaz remains undecided.

All registered voters in Santa Clara County will choose the new sheriff, but the race takes on more meaning in areas such as Cupertino, which contracts with the Sheriff's Department for its police services.

Salcido is a San Jose native who, at one time, studied to be a priest at Saint Joseph's Seminary in Cupertino.

Salcido, who is stationed on the west side of the county, said he is anxious to change the way the Sheriff's Department is run. Salcido has a degree from San Jose State University in business management, with a concentration in accounting, and he is finishing up his master's degree in public administration.

He criticized the department for being too concerned with its image. "I want to do more substance," he said.

Salcido said he wants to concentrate more on drug enforcement, as well as preventing youth crime.

"One of the major problems we have here is where our youth are going; we need to start focusing on what youth need," he said.

A former vice president of the Deputy Sheriff's Association, Salcido has been endorsed by that organization, as well as by the Central Coast Chapter of the Peace Officers Research Association of California.

Diaz is a native Californian who came to San Jose in 1972 from Visalia, where he began his law enforcement career.

Diaz said he wants to continue to enhance programs that he initiated while working as an assistant sheriff. He said he helped to implement the Community Service Unit, a domestic violence program, and he initiated bringing more technology into the department, such as laptop computers and a computerized map system for patrol cars.

Like Salcido, Diaz said he wants to promote more youth programs, but Diaz said he wants to concentrate on educating young teens about racial diversity. "I want to break boundaries and barriers," Diaz said. "I want to expose kids to other lives, other ways of living." He suggested workshops on hate crimes and racial tensions for kids from around the county.

Because he backs bringing more technology into the department, Diaz said he has the support of Cisco Systems CEO John Morgridge, Network Peripherals CEO and President Pauline Lo Alker, and Oak Technologies CEO and President David Tsang.

Diaz said he also has been endorsed by county Supervisor Blanca Alverado and San Jose city councilmen Manny Diaz and George Shirakawa, as well as by state Senator Byron Sher.

Sing was unavailable for interviews at press time.

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