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STAFF WRITER CONNIE SWINNEY

LLANO — Should he win back his Llano school board incumbency in an upcoming race, a newly elected Llano County judge would have to resign from the board due to state law, officials said.

With no opposing party challenger in the general election, Llano County Judge-elect Ron Cunningham, a Republican, is scheduled to be sworn in to that post Jan. 1, 2019, following his March primary win.

However, voters in an upcoming election May 5 will see his name on the ballot again as the incumbent for the Llano Independent School District Board of Trustees contest.

“I’ve never seen this (scenario) happen. He was an incumbent (trustee), and he filed to run for county judge, but in the meantime, the election was coming up for school board,” said Llano County Elections Administrator Cindy Ware. “He did get enough votes to become county judge, but it was too late to withdraw from the Llano school board election.”

Municipal and school board elections occur each year and vary in the number of candidates elected depending on whether the entity opts for at-large or place system voting.

Also, term limits are based on individual charter preferences, which could include two- or three-year terms.

County elections, which typically feature from two to three seats up for election each cycle, occur every two years with those elected serving four-year terms.

“There’s a deadline to file for the place on the ballot, and there’s a deadline to withdraw,” Ware said. “It (was also) past the deadline to cancel the election.”

A win by school board challenger Dean Campbell, a retiree who has lived in Llano County for eight years, would solve the resignation requirement; otherwise, a school board election win by Cunningham would hasten the county judge-elect to abide by state law.

“Therefore, when he gets sworn in as county judge, he will have to resign his other position,” Ware said.

Early voting for municipal and school board elections is April 23-May 1. The election is May 5.

connie@thepicayune.com