County Clerk Adam Bello plans to run for Monroe County executive this fall, he said Monday at a Democratic designating meeting in Brighton.

The seat is currently held by Republican Cheryl Dinolfo, who defeated Democrat Sandra Frankel in 2015.

In an interview outside the meeting, Bello confirmed he is seeking the party nomination but declined to elaborate further.

"I'll have a lot more to say about this once I go through the process and earn the nomination," he said. "Obviously, I've enjoyed my time in county government serving as county clerk and I'm having a conversation with the Democratic Party right now about other ways to expand on that service."

Jesse Sleezer, a spokesman for Dinolfo, responded in a text message: "County Executive Dinolfo is one of upstate's strongest female leaders and has the results to prove it — she cut the county property tax rate, helped to secure nearly 20,000 local jobs and kept her promise to clean up government by eliminating (local development corporations). She's earned the overwhelming support of local voters in four straight countywide campaigns and looks forward to running on her pro-job, tax-cut record."

Bello, 38, will look to follow in the footsteps of his two immediate predecessors, as the county clerk position has been a launching pad for county executive careers in the last two decades. Dinolfo, and before her Maggie Brooks, were both county clerks before winning the county executive post.

Bello was the Irondequoit town supervisor from 2014 until Gov. Andrew Cuomo named him in March 2016 to fill a vacancy left by the election of Dinolfo as county executive. Bello then won a full term in November 2016. Before that, he was an aide to state Assemblyman Joe Morelle, D-Irondequoit, now a congressman.

Long seen as a rising star in the county Democratic Party, Bello already has positioned himself in opposition to Dinolfo, flagging several instances of what he called mismanagement in the clerk's office on her watch: failure to file pistol permit opt-out forms; regularly waiving some mandated filing fees; appointees not completing oaths of office as required.

At the same time, Bello was at the helm when it was discovered that employees in his office were mishandling sensitive Department of Motor Vehicles records, tossing them unshredded into the trash with residents' personal information still visible. The Republicans accused him of covering up the extent of the problem.

Shani Curry Mitchell

Also Monday, Shani Curry Mitchell, a former Monroe County assistant district attorney, announced she is seeking the Democratic endorsement to run against Republican District Attorney Sandra Doorley. Mitchell, who currently works in the city of Rochester’s law department, had earlier said she would run for City Court judge. She grew up in the southwest area of the city and graduated from Wilson Magnet High School before going on to Spelman College in Atlanta.

JMURPHY7@Gannett.com

MCHAO@Gannett.com