A Black city leader in New York publicly stated that she is leaving office due to numerous threats and verbal attacks she’s suffered in her time on the town board.
Jaime Puccioni said that effective Sept. 1, she would step down from her role as town supervisor for Niskayuna, New York, a town located just outside Albany populated by approximately 20,000 people.
According to state guidelines, a town supervisor is the presiding officer over the town board and is essentially a town’s chief elected official.
Last week, a Niskayuna resident called Puccioni’s office to leave a racially charged message on her office voicemail.
That resident, 24-year-old Osman Rasul, was charged with a second-degree felony count of aggravated harassment as a hate crime.
Court documents state that Rasul called Puccioni’s office on Aug. 16 from an anonymous number after Puccioni announced her resignation, the Daily Gazette reported.
“I have some concerns that she may want to hear otherwise the next step is federal criminal charges against the n— and n— lover,” Rasul allegedly said in the message.
Before leaving that voicemail, Rasul attended a town board meeting in July, where he claimed that he had been harassed by town police during the public comment portion.
He also addressed Puccioni directly.
“I did not want to add to the negative vitriol, and Jaime, I understand you’ve had a lot of attacks on your character,” Rasul said at the July 23 meeting. “I’ve had attacks on my character. I empathize and sympathize with you. I say it from my heart.”
Puccioni’s secretary stated that Rasul is a regular caller to Puccioni’s office and that he has placed numerous calls to her line in the past from anonymous numbers.
After Rasul’s arrest, Puccioni released a public statement sharing that she initially wanted to leave her role quietly, but felt prompted to speak out about how Rasul’s conduct has only increased her concerns for her personal safety following a number of other troubling incidents.
“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 released in a statement on Aug. 22.
Puccioni said that she and her fellow board members have 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,” Puccioni added. “To put it simply, it has become dangerous. And this was one of the factors that influenced my decision to leave public office.”
Puccioni is leaving office with 16 months left in her term. She was first elected as the town supervisor in 2022 and won re-election in 2024.
Her role as town supervisor makes her the chief executive officer of Niskayuna. The person occupying that position directs day-to-day activities of town affairs and coordinates the activities of town department heads, establishes the standing committees of the Town Board, and designates chairpersons and membership, according to the town website.
She was also Niskayuna’s chief fiscal officer and was responsible for overseeing the budget process and Niskayuna’s financial management.
Puccioni plans to return to a full-time faculty position at the University of Albany where she already serves as an associate professor with the institution’s School of Education.
