Perennial local political candidate Alvin Rutledge no longer lives in the Edmonds School District, but he is still on the ballot for the district’s Board of Directors, challenging incumbent Carin Chase for Position 1.

And according to the school district, if he happened to win, he would still be eligible to serve as long as he moved back into the district prior to taking the oath of office.

For years, Rutledge has made it his mission to run against unopposed candidates, and previously run unsuccessfully for offices that include Edmonds City Council and the Washington State Legislature. He filed to run against Chase for the Edmonds School Board seat just before the May 17 filing deadline.

But in July, Rutledge sold his home in Edmonds’ Lake Ballinger neighborhood and moved to an Everett mobile home park. It was too late to remove his name from the ballot.

According to a letter Rutledge received from Allison Kaufmann, school district executive assistant to the superintendent, district policy says that if he were elected he would be required to have proof of school district residency. And Rutledge said if he happens to win the election against Chase — a one-term incumbent — he would move back to the district to take the job.

If he doesn’t win and decides to stay in Everett, Rutledge said he is undecided for now whether he would run for elected office in the City of Everett or Snohomish County.