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Monroe County Legislator John Lightfoot resigns

Monroe County Legislator John Lightfoot is resigning from the Legislature.
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Monroe County Legislator John Lightfoot is resigning from the Legislature.

Monroe County Legislator John Lightfoot, a Democrat, has submitted his resignation, effective Sunday.

Lightfoot, who represents the 25th District, which covers a wide swath of Rochester that includes downtown and the west side, has served in the County Legislature since 2012.

His letter of resignation, dated Friday, didn't specify a reason for his decision. But in a phone interview, Lightfoot said he's "just been working toward some other things." He said he wants to take a break and "restrategize."

As a member of the Legislature's minority, Lightfoot had a largely unremarkable tenure.

One success of his, however, was advocating for the county to raise its requirements for minority- and women-owned business participation in county projects. The county acted, boosting the minority-owned requirement from 10 percent to 13 percent and nudging the women-owned business threshold from 2 percent to 3 percent.

Prior to his time in the Legislature, Lightfoot served as a member of Rochester City Council from 2006 through 2009. That year, he lost a bid for the seat on the heels of his third drunken-driving conviction.

Under the County Charter, the president of the Legislature must appoint a replacement for a vacant seat, and the replacement must be a member of the same political party as the departing member.

Republicans hold a slight majority over Democrats in the Legislature, occupying 15 of the 29 seats.

Jeremy Moule is CITY's news editor. He can be reached at jmoule@rochester-citynews.com.