Jay Brant and Kathy Booth meet the legal qualifications to be candidates running for the School Board Director No. 2 position of the Lopez Island School District. However, if Booth is elected she will not be able to serve because she is now employed with the school district, which according to the San Juan County Elections Office, is a conflict of interest.

When Brant and Booth filed for this position in June, they were eligible to serve in this position. Since filing, Booth has been hired by the district and is therefore unable to serve. Her name will appear on the ballot because she filed before her employment began

To be elected, Brant must receive a majority of votes, even though Booth is not eligible to hold the position.

If elected, Booth will not be allowed to serve and there will be a vacancy of office. The school board would then select someone to fill that vacancy.

“The school board does have the power to vote Jay Brant into that position,” said the SJC Elections Supervisor Doris Schaller. “But he can’t win as a runner up.”