ALBANY - After over a decade guiding Common Council members, the city council soon will have a new leader at the helm.

Following a debate over the equity agenda that some council members felt needed further discussion, Councilman Richard Conti announced his resignation as president pro tempore after 15 years in the leadership position.

The president pro tempore serves as the liaison between the council and the mayor, guiding the process of legislation and controlling committee assignments.

“I will tell you this job is thankless, that 90 percent or so is basically unseen by members...it’s the important work that needs to be done to make this body work, to make the council work,” said Conti during an Oct. 21 regular meeting of the council. “I think tonight a decision was made for me, basically that it’s probably time for me to step down and for me to focus on the issues I need to focus on.”

The equity agenda was an ordinance passed recently that codifies the city’s commitment to providing services equitably by using data to make decisions on things like road paving and sidewalk improvements. The ordinance is meant to bolster underserved communities who perhaps haven’t seen those improvements like other wealthier, more politically-connected neighborhoods have.

It’s expected Majority Leader Kelly Kimbrough will be voted into the role at the council’s regular meeting on Monday. But who will fill the role that Kimbrough will vacate is up in the air, Council President Corey Ellis said.

“New leadership means a new way of dealing with council members. Kelly is very focused on making sure every council member’s position is put forward - not saying Richard wasn’t,” Ellis said. “Richard was very consistent and his intergovernmental knowledge was valuable. I also think a lot of council members learned a lot from him and will use that knowledge.”

Kimbrough said Conti has been a good leader, and he is sorry to see him step down. "With the support of my colleagues on the council, I look forward to stepping into the role of president pro tempore and working together with the council and city administration to achieve the best possible outcomes for our folks here in the city of Albany,” Kimbrough wrote in a statement.

Councilman Michael O’Brien said he, as well as council members Jahmel Robinson and Ginnie Farrell, have expressed interest in becoming majority leader.

“I think he did a good job. He knew the legislative process, he was conscientious,” O’Brien said. “He was very fair. He would let people have their say.”

Conti was voted in as president pro tempore during a contentious time for Common Council members 15 years ago, when some members felt then-President Pro Tempore Michael Brown’s absence at meetings - including one where members debated a possible investigation of the Albany Police Department - was detrimental to the legislative body.

During his time as pro tempore, Conti championed council representation on the city’s Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which was a five-member group controlled by the mayor, as well as other efforts to gain more council control on city matters.

He also led the charge to get to the bottom of “ghost” tickets being given to private vehicles that had windshield stickers issued by the police union. The stickers prompted ticket writers, who worked for the police department, to issue “no fine” tickets to those with stickers, which included police officers, their spouses and retired officers and civilian employees.

“I’ve done a lot as president pro tempore to give the council tools and structure that allows them to be more independent and stronger in exercising its oversight role,” Conti said.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan said whoever takes on the role of president pro tempore next will benefit from Conti’s extensive experience.

“Certainly in my earlier years as mayor, we were in dire fiscal straits,” she said. “Those first couple of budgets were very, very challenging, and Richard was very helpful in working through where there were revenue opportunities and opportunities for us to save money.”

Conti said the events of the October meeting that led to the equity agenda vote prompted his resignation, but admitted he has mulled the possibility of stepping down from the post for some time.

“I want to say...it is not an indication that we do not support an equity agenda or we do not support the policies and objectives outlined,” Conti said before the equity agenda vote Oct. 21, in which he did not vote in favor or against, but only "present." “It’s just the process that got us here which is contrary to what I try to do as far as this council and putting in place a process that actually protects everybody whether your opinion is in the majority or in the minority.”

Now by stepping down Conti can focus on the issues of the 6th Ward, which includes Washington Park, Park South and Center Square neighborhoods in Albany, he said. These efforts include improvements and enhancements on Lark Street, overall quality of life and safety issues in the neighborhood, and jump starting talks on ethics reform and council rules and procedures.

“It does take a load off my back,” Conti said. “You’ll be seeing me focus on the agenda I want to focus on.”