Gallatin County Sheriff's Lieutenant Jeff Wade has officially announced he's running for Sheriff Wednesday.

The forty-nine year old has been in the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office for twenty-one years. Wade also has twenty-three years of service in the U.S. Army, ranking as a Major, and served a tour in Iraq in 2003.

Wade will face off against current Sheriff Brian Gootkin and candidate Mike Wick.

The Lieutenant was one of four people to apply for the position in December, when Sheriff Jim Cashell announced his retirement. Ultimately the position went to Gootkin.

He says his campaign will focus on three things, "One, getting out in the neighborhoods, getting more community involved. Being out there with the businesses, interacting with people, getting the community involved in what we do. One of the other things I'm interested in doing is getting more involved in the schools. A few years ago when I commanded the Patrol Division, I realized that the School Resource Officer didn't belong in Detectives, it belonged in Patrol, it belonged in uniform and it belonged in the schools. And finally it's about running this office efficiently and effectively."

Wade says he believes Gallatin County has the best Sheriff's Department in the state and he thinks if elected he can build on that.

When asked what it would be like to continue to work side by side with current Sheriff Brian Gootkin while running a campaign against him, Wade said things will continue to run smoothly and be professional.

"Brian and I have worked a lot of years together, I remember when he was hired. I think Brian's done a lot of good things in his career. I don't feel that we'll see much of a change in the Sheriff's Office. I don't anticipate that we're going to be anything but professional," Wade said.