Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart says he hasn’t decided yet whether to run against county Executive Aaron Reardon in 2007, despite a news report to the contrary.

“I haven’t made my mind up yet,” said Bart, a Republican. But if “Aaron Reardon keeps going down the road of wanting to cut law and justice, he’s going to have an opponent, and it’s going to be me.”

Bart, who is starting his 10th year as sheriff, cannot run again because of term limits.

“I don’t think I can walk away from the sheriff’s office knowing there’s a county executive, in my opinion, that’s not making protecting citizens a priority,” Bart said.

The sheriff’s challenge is the latest development in his increasingly strained relationship with Reardon.

Bart said he could take up to a year to decide. He announced his interest in the job because anyone challenging Reardon “better get their act together and start running now.”

Reardon, a Democrat, filed on Oct. 4 to run for re-election, just 10 months into his first year as county executive.

Bart and Reardon have spent the past year arguing over public safety. Law and justice programs make up 70 percent of the county’s $550 million budget.

Upon hearing that Bart may run against him in 2007, Reardon said that may help explain some of their disagreements.

“I suspect he’ll maintain that level of political grandstanding throughout the next couple of years now that he’s running for office,” Reardon said.

The biggest sparks flew over the county’s 2005 budget. Reardon asked the sheriff to cut his budget by2 percent. Instead, Bart asked for 97 new deputies and $17 million to pay for new equipment and services during the budget year. He has long argued for more money for the sheriff’s office.

He told Reardon that he would have to let 13 deputies go if he had to make the $765,000 in cuts that Reardon wanted.

At that time, the county had planned to devote $41.9 million to the sheriff’s office in the 2005 budget.

The County Council turned down some of Reardon’s proposed cuts to Bart’s department, and no deputies were laid off.

Bart said he would have pared back county park service this year before touching law and justice programs. He said he’s looking forward to next year’s budget battle, but maintains that his announcement won’t change his relationship with Reardon.

“How could it get any worse?” he said.