Erin Lunceford was named judge of the 61st Judicial District Court in Harris County by Gov. Greg Abbott for a term to expire at the next general election.

Abbott has made seven appointments to the Texas Board of Nursing:

•    Diana Flores, Francis Stokes, Allison Edwards and David E. Saucedo II were appointed for terms to expire Jan. 31, 2021.

•    Kathy Leader-Horn was reappointed for a term to expire on Jan. 31, 2021.

•    Doris Jackson and Laura Disque were appointed for terms to expire Jan. 31, 2017, and Jan. 31, 2019, respectively.

State Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, is joining law firm Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP as a corporate partner. He was previously at Haynes and Boone LLP.

McCall Johnson has hired on with Recurrent Energy as government affairs manager for the ERCOT, SPP and MISO regions. Prior to that, she was an advisor to Chairman Donna Nelson at the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Heath Mayor Lorne Liechty will run as a Republican for the House District 33 seat being vacated by Scott Turner. Liechty was elected mayor in 2012 after serving on city council from 2004-12.

State Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton, on Tuesday announced that he’s running for re-election in House District 2.

State Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, announced on Thursday that he will run for re-election in the East Texas-based House District 9.

State Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-Mission, also announced Thursday that he is seeking re-election to Hidalgo County-based House District 41.

State Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown, announced on Monday that he will run for re-election. He is in his seventh term representing the Harris County-based House District 128.

House District 7 candidate Jay Dean on Thursday received the endorsement of the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC.

Deaths: Ruben Hope Jr., who served four terms in the Texas House from 1999 until 2007, passed away July 3. He was 78.