Movin' on up.

A longtime sheriff's department employee is looking to add a star to his uniform by running for Kootenai County sheriff.

Maj. Ben Wolfinger, current support services bureau commander and media spokesperson for the sheriff's department, has filed paperwork at the county Elections Office to prepare for running for sheriff in the November 2012 election.

Wolfinger made the decision, he said, when Sheriff Rocky Watson announced last week that he plans to retire after this term.

"I've been looking at it for a long time," said Wolfinger, a sheriff's department employee for 28 years. "I told Rocky if he wasn't going to run, then I would."

Sheriff Watson could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Wolfinger, 49, said becoming sheriff would be a natural step in his career.

"I've really worked my career to take that position," he said.

He was 21 when he started working for the sheriff's department in 1983, he said, after obtaining an associate's degree in law enforcement from North Idaho College.

He worked in the patrol, detective and jail divisions for over a decade before switching to administrative work for the past 16 years.

Wolfinger was appointed major in 2009.

"I think having the opportunity to work and manage in all the bureaus of the department has prepared me probably uniquely," Wolfinger said. "I have the big picture of how the entire department works, and I know the ins and outs of the entire department, not just one section."

Wolfinger is also certified through the P.O.S.T. Academy.

He has received honors including the 2001 Ed Abbot Community Volunteer Award and the 2005 Distinguished Citizen of the Year.

He and his wife, Mary, live in Coeur d'Alene and have two grown sons, Adam and Brad.

Wolfinger, originally from Wallace, hasn't started prepping for the campaign yet, he said.

"I still have a job to do," he said. "I've got to work, campaigns cost money."