While the term candidate can be used to indicate one seeking office by appointment, we think that the electorate, in adopting this provision, would have understood the word in terms of an election. In this instance, the county judge made no effort to announce or become a candidate in any election at all, but rather sought gubernatorial appointment to the office. Thus, we believe that the automatic resignation provision of this section was not activated by the judge s attempts to be appointed to another office. You next ask about the application of article XVI, section 65, to a county commissioner who files an application for candidacy for hospital district board. Since the position on the hospital district board is uncompensated, you ask whether an hospital district board member holds an office of trust within article XVI, section 65 of the constitution.
Prior opinions show that office of trust is interchangeable with office.
Based on the following opinions, we believe that a director of a hospital district holds an office of trust. Those two opinions primarily based their reasoning on the fact that the board of directors exercises some portion of the sovereign power of government. Accordingly, we believe that an uncompensated member of a hospital district board holds an office of trust within article XVI, section 65 of the Texas Constitution. The automatic resignation provision of article XVI, section 65 of the Texas Constitution does not operate to remove a county judge who seeks gubernatorial appointment to a district court bench. A member of the board of directors of a hospital district holds an office of trust.