Request By:
Honorable Paul W. Blair
Attorney at Law
120 Normal Avenue
Morehead, Kentucky 40381
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of December 29 in which you request an opinion concerning the following:
"A certified employe of the Rowan County Board of Education has requested me to obtain your opinion on whether he can legally retain his position with the Rowan County Board of Education and be a candidate for (and if elected, serve as):
"1. A member of the Fiscal Court; or
"2. Mayor of the City of Morehead, a municipality of the fourth population class."
Employment with the Rowan County Board of Education is merely a form of state employment. See
Board of Trustees of Fairview Graded School District v. Renfrow, 259 Ky. 644, 83 S.W.2d 27 (1935). On the other hand a member of the fiscal court is a county officer and the mayor of the city of Morehead is a municipal officer.
There is no provision under § 165 of the Constitution of KRS 61.080 relating to incompatible offices that would prohibit a person from holding state employment [except state merit employes under KRS 18.310(4)] and a county or municipal office at the same time. Of course, the question of incompatibility does not even arise until the person assumes the second office that is incompatible with the first. Thus, there would be no statutory or constitutional incompatibility in any event during the candidacy of the school employe for one of the offices in question.
Of course, there is always the possibility of a common law incompatibility or conflict of interest where the duties of both positions cannot be performed with care and ability, however, this is a question of fact for the courts to decide. Also, it is possible that the local school board may have adopted a policy, that may or may not be written into the employe's contract, requiring the employe to resign or take a leave of absence if he wishes to become a candidate for political office.