A Black town supervisor in New York has resigned after facing several threats and verbal attacks during her time in office.
Effective Sunday (Sept. 1), Jaime Puccioni, the town supervisor for Niskayuna, New York, said she would be stepping down from her role, per Atlanta Black Star. The town supervisor serves as the presiding officer over the town board.
Puccioni’s resignation comes amid a racist message that was left on her office voicemail. According to court documents, an anonymous number called Puccioni’s office earlier this month.
“I have some concerns that she may want to hear otherwise the next step is federal criminal charges against the n— and n— lover,” the caller said in the message.
24-year-old Niskayuna resident Osman Rasul was charged with a second-degree felony count of aggravated harassment as a hate crime in connection to the incident.
Prior to the racist voicemail, Rasul attended a town board meeting in July, where he accused town police of harassing him and addressed Puccioni directly. Puccioni’s secretary also said Rasul regularly called her office from anonymous numbers.
Puccioni seemingly addressed Rasul’s behavior in a statement, saying the racist voicemail wasn’t an “isolated incident.”
“The latest situation involving an individual who made racist and threatening comments to me is not an isolated incident. For me, the final straw was having to be escorted out of the last two Town Board meetings by police officers because I felt threatened by this individual’s aggressive behavior,” Puccioni said last week.
The town supervisor added that she’s been subjected to “countless threats and verbal assaults.”
“Sadly, this scenario is becoming all too common. Locally, regionally, and nationally, politics has become too polarizing and combative,” she said. “To put it simply, it has become dangerous. And this was one of the factors that influenced my decision to leave public office.”
Puccioni, who was first elected in 2022, is leaving office with 16 months left in her second term. She said she plans to return as a full-time faculty member at the University of Albany where she currently serves as an associate professor.
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