STAFF REPORT
Bill Liddle, a retired history professor at Texas State University, was elected county party chair by unanimous vote of the Hays County Democratic Party’s executive committee last week.
Liddle will serve as chair of the party for the remainder of the term that expires next April.
A longtime party activist, Liddle served three terms as chair during the late 1980s and ’90s. A San Marcos resident, he takes the place of John Leonard, also of San Marcos, who was forced to step down for health reasons earlier this year.
Leonard has accepted the position as secretary of the party, succeeding Rachel Najera of Buda.
Meanwhile, County Election Administrator Joyce Cowan is busy planning the increase of Hays County’s 36 voting precincts to handle the election needs in the March party primaries.
However, no final decision can be made until both the U.S. Justice Department and a panel of federal judges decide whether the Legislature’s decision to split the county into two state senate districts and three U.S. congressional districts will pass muster with constitutional requirements that have been in effect for 40 years.
If the Legislature’s actions pass, the county may end up with more than a dozen additional voting precincts.
Filing periods for offices whose terms expire next year are set for November, but could be altered if the courts find serious fault with parts of the legislative enactments.
