WXXI: Victor Town Supervisor Resigns (2008-09-17)

Republican Leslie Bamann announced Tuesday she is resigning as Victor Town Supervisor, saying she wants to spend more time with family members and explore other professional opportunities.

The announcement comes in time for both parties to put forth candidates for the job on November's ballot, which Bamann says was very important to her.

"I resigned in this period so the whole community could vote on the leadership of this community," said Bamann. "It's the way I've tried to do things."

Had Bamann waited until after Friday to leave office, election rules say the new Town Supervisor would have been appointed by the Democratic-controlled Town Board.

Town Democratic Committee chairman John Hurley was critical of the timing of the resignation but also said it didn't come as a surprise.

"We had heard rumors for a number of weeks that Leslie was looking to do something," said Hurley, "and when we became aware of the fact that the 19th was sort of a drop-dead date between an appointment and the election it became pretty obvious to us."

The Democratic board will appoint an interim supervisor to take over the post until the end of the year, when the elected supervisor takes office.

The Republicans also announced Tuesday they have chosen Village of Victor deputy Mayor Jack Marren to run for her seat.

Democrats plan on announcing their candidate within a few days.