Monroe County Legislator John Lightfoot resigns 

Monroe County Legislator John Lightfoot, a Democrat, has submitted his resignation, effective Sunday, March 22

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 to 13 percent from 10 percent and nudging the women-owned business threshold to 3 percent from 2 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 [email protected].