Irondequoit Town Councilman John Perticone has thrown his hat into the ring in the race for town supervisor.
Perticone seeks to challenge incumbent Andraé Evans in the June Democratic primary. He announced his candidacy the day after an internal investigation report leaked detailing allegations of sexual harassment and relationship by Evans against a town employee.
Perticone did not return a request for comment Thursday. But a letter circulated to Irondequoit Democratic Committee members outlined his plans to run for office.
“I believe our community needs someone who will restore the high standard of representation that Irondequoit residents and town employees expect and deserve,” the letter reads. “Someone who is willing to work with everyone to advance a positive town agenda to move Irondequoit forward.”
Perticone was first elected to the Irondequoit Town Board in 2007, and previously served a one-year stint on the town’s planning board.
Members of the Irondequoit Democratic Committee met Thursday evening to decide which candidates to designate. Party designation does not stop a candidate from running. Candidates can run on the party line with or without the party's backing. But designated candidates get help gathering the petition signatures needed to get on the ballot.
They chose not to designate anyone for town office, neither supervisor nor Town Board, but can do so at a later date.
Two seats on the four-member board are up for election this year. Perticone is not one of them.
The investigation into Evans began in October and was completed in November. Town Board members met in a special session last Friday, announcing the completion of an investigation into an elected official but declining comment on the details.
WXXI News obtained the report Tuesday. Hours later, the Town Board, including Perticone, called for Evans to immediately resign. Evans has not publicly commented since the report leaked but said on Monday that he had no intent to resign, and that he believed the investigation was a political ploy to get him out of office.
