Captain Paul Miyamoto ran against Ross Mirkarimi for Sheriff and lost but he now wants to serve as the number two in the Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff Mirkarimi began this week interviewing applicants for the position of undersheriff  -- one of the first positions he needs to fill after officially becoming sheriff on Jan. 8 -- and Miyamoto has interviewed.

Mirkarimi is carrying on his duties as sheriff despite fighting domestic violence charges related to a New Year’s incident when he allegedly grabbed his wife hard enough to leave a bruise.

The San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association is in support of Miyamoto for the number two post, according to union head Don Wilson. That’s not surprising since the union strongly endorsed Miyamoto for sheriff.  

Miyamoto was taking part in a training exercise Wednesday at Alcatraz Island and unable to comment. The current undersheriff Jan Dempsey plans to retire soon.

Union members have not publically spoken about the charges facing their boss, but picking Miyamoto as undersheriff would likely go a long way to improve morale and help Mirkarimi improve his relationship with the law enforcement members. It could also position Miyamoto to become sheriff should Mirkarimi step down from the post or suffer a removal for “official misconduct.”

jsabatini@sfexaminer.com