INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — It was decided Tuesday by a Washoe County judge that Tim Callicrate is not eligible to run for an additional term on the Incline Village General Improvement District Board of Trustees.

The hearing to determine if Callicrate was eligible began with Washoe County Deputy District Attorney Herbert Kaplan giving background on how Callicrate assumed he was able to run.

“There really are two issues here,” said Kaplan. “The first being that Mr. Callicrate was provided sought advice of the Registrar of Voters office prior to declaring his candidacy as to whether he qualified, and unfortunately he was provided a response that he did qualify; despite the fact I’m not sure that he does.”

The second issue that was presented to the judge was the issue of ambiguity of the term limits, which Kaplan argued could be read as either 12 consecutive years or 12 years total to serve.

Callicrate responded that the reason he chose to move forward with filing for candidacy was because he reached out to the Registrar of Voters office twice for clarification on his eligibility, and was told both times he was able to move forward.

“Your decision to me will be definitive,” said Callicrate, “and whatever that is, I am prepare to move forward.”

After hearing more from Kaplan about potential ambiguity that could be found in NRS Article 15, Section 3.2 and the Miller v. Burke case in relation to this case, he explained that regardless of the finding, the DA’s office would respect the decision of the court and move forward.

“The DA’s office doesn’t represent Mr. Callicrate, it doesn’t represent any specific individual,” said Kaplan. “We’re involved in this to ensure that only qualified candidates run for office. We also have the interests of the entire population in Washoe County at stake, to ensure that the voting public is entitled to and has the opportunity to vote for all the qualified candidates.”

Judge Walker was able to make a decision.

“If the registrar gave Mr. Callicrate erroneous opinion about his candidacy or his qualifications for candidacy,” said Judge Egan Walker, “That may be unfortunate, but it is not binding on the court or anyone else.”

It was apparent to the court that Callicrate was acting in good faith after acting with the information he had, even if it was false.

Judge Walker found no ambiguity in the provision’s language, and explained that while they could argue the wisdom of term limits, it wouldn’t change the language of the provision.

“The voters have spoken through the legislative process into the constitution and 12 years, I find as a consequence of that,” said Judge Walker, “a direct interpretation of the law is that Mr. Callicrate is not eligible as an elector in this particular election. I do not celebrate that. I do not apologize for that. It’s just the way I read it.”

Callicrate was accepting of this finding, and thanked the court for their efforts in making the decision.

“You have made a decision,” said Callicrate. “I stand by that, and I can actually take a breath.”

Callicrate is excited to finish up his work with the board and begin to enjoy his summer.

“I’m supporting two other candidates and I wish them well, and I hope everybody keeps things on the up and up,” Callicrate told the Tribune. “It’s been a wild eight years and then four back in 1997 to 2000, and I feel so honored and privileged that I got to serve as an elected official in this community. It’s a tremendous place to live and that community has given me three terms. I have no complaints.”