Former deputy aiming for DuPage sheriff's post
A retired DuPage County sheriff's deputy says he wants to run the department and is ready to challenge Sheriff John Zaruba for the job in 2010.
Mike Quiroz has launched a grass-roots campaign to convince voters they should support him in the Republican primary instead of his former boss Zaruba - a three-term incumbent.
"I will work to make the DuPage County Sheriff's Office the most premium police department in the state of Illinois," said Quiroz, who has started a campaign Web site at citizensformikeq.com.
Zaruba hasn't formally announced whether he'll seek a fourth term. Area GOP leaders say they expect him to run again.
The sheriff did not return telephone messages.
Quiroz was a sheriff's deputy from 1979 until he retired in 2003. During that time, he served in the corrections, patrol and detective divisions. He now owns two businesses - one providing private security for executives and another offering private investigation services.
"Serving the citizens of DuPage County for 24 years as a deputy sheriff was a very rewarding experience for me," said Quiroz, 52, of unincorporated West Chicago. "I was able to hear the needs of the people and also their frustrations.
"I believe DuPage County could be a little bit better - actually, a lot better - with a government that's a little more accountable to the people."
Zaruba, who has been with the department since 1974, rose to the top spot in 1997 when he was selected to finish the remaining term of retiring Sheriff Richard Doria.
Zaruba was elected to the job in 1998, 2002 and 2006. He won the GOP primary in 2006 with nearly 72 percent of the vote.
Unlike Zaruba, Quiroz has never sought public office and says he isn't actively involved with the local Republican party.
"I am not a politician," he said. "I don't want to be a politician. And I think it's an absolute plus not being a politician, because I am not accountable to anyone but the people of DuPage County. And that's how I want it to be."
Quiroz said he believes his years as a sheriff's deputy and experience as a business owner make him qualified to lead the department.
"I have lived my entire life doing more with less," he said. "I am certainly going to do that with the sheriff's office. I plan to go along with programs that are very, very successful. And the ones that aren't working are going to be gone, because we need to save money."
Quiroz is a lifelong resident of DuPage. He grew up in Villa Park and graduated from Willowbrook High School. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Aurora University.