Updated 9:43 a.m., Jan. 13: The story was updated to reflect the newly created council member Position No. 7, which will be on the May general election ballot. Less than a year after his successful Pearland City Council re-election bid, Greg Hill announced his resignation from Position No. 5 to focus on campaigning for the Brazoria County Court at Law No. 1 judgeship. Hill announced his campaign bid for the judgeship on his personal Facebook account after Judge Jerri Lee Mills announced she would not run for re-election at the end of her term in 2018. Mills' resignation was made public on Jan. 5, according to a local Brazoria County newspaper called The Facts. Mills wasn't available for comment by press time. "Judge Mills is retiring, and her and I are friends. Since her seat is going to become available I thought it was a perfect time to run," Hill said. "I'm looking forward to serving in a much bigger capacity.” The primary election for County Court at Law No. 1 will be held March 2018, and the general election will be held the following November. If Hill wins the judgeship, he will begin serving as a county judge in 2019. Hill will remain on council until his successor is elected in the city's May 2017 general election. A run-off election could postpone Hill's departure until June. The newly elected council member would serve out the rest of Hill's term, which expires in 2019. Other council positions on the May general election ballot this year include the mayor's position, held by longtime incumbent and Pearland resident Tom Reid, and council Position No. 3, which is held by Mayor Pro Tem Gary Moore. A newly created council seat—council Position No. 7— will be on the ballot for the first time in May, according to the Pearland city secretary's office. In total, two open council seats, an incumbent council seat and the mayor's seat will be on the ballot. Candidates can file to be placed on the May ballot beginning Jan. 18; the last day to file is Feb. 17, according to the Texas Secretary of State site. "My intent was to initially resign later," Hill said. "[But] if I do it this time, my seat would come up with the mayor. We wouldn’t have to pay another $40,000," for a special election, Hill said. If Hill vacated his position later in the year, the city would have a vacancy until the 2018 elections or would have to pay for a special election, costing thousands of taxpayer dollars. Pearland council members are limited to two, three-year terms on the council. Hill's re-election in 2016 would have marked his last term as a Pearland City Council member if he served until 2019. Hill joined the council after a successful 2011 election contest, where he was elected to serve out a council vacancy. He has since won two re-election bids in 2013 and 2016 for his council seat. Although he has served on the council for more than five years, he has only served one full term from 2013-16. Hill is a Texas A&M graduate, a former U.S. border patrol agent, and an active attorney. Hill received his law degree from the South Texas College of Law Houston in 2004 and was an assistant district attorney for Galveston County. Hill currently serves as a prosecutor for Friendswood and an attorney for the city of Liverpool. He resigned as a prosecutor for Alvin to run for the county judgeship, Hill said.