In researching elected offices for a particular address, it is rarely clean. For example: the Brazoria County Surveyor. The last time this position was posted on a ballot was back in 2002.
Now Mr. Singletary has been a surveyor for the county for a long time. Recently, in updating offices, his County Surveyor position has disappeared. In the meantime a new office has appeared: the County Engineer. What is similar between this office and the surveyor’s position is that neither were listed as elected on the county website. However, the Surveyor’s (and now the Engineer’s) offices are listed as elected on the Brazoria County GOP’s website.
Working to understand this discrepancy, I called the Brazoria County Judge’s office. The staff member who I spoke with there stated that she didn’t know about the County Surveyor, except that that was no longer elected. She was certain however, that the County Engineer position is appointed by the Commissioner’s Court and isn’t elected.
You would think that government is pretty clear about what offices are and aren’t elected; however, I’m here to tell you from experience that sometimes you just have to call (don’t get me started on the nightmare otherwise known as special districts, particularly fire departments). Anyone interested in doing further work on this should contact the Brazoria County and request all the records regarding the creation and any changes to the two positions. <==VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY!!