Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon announced Thursday morning that he is resigning, effective at the end of May, the Herald newspaper in Everett reported.

Reardon said that the timeframe gives the Democratic party enough time to pick a replacement, the Herald said.

The Snohomish County Council took emergency action Wednesday to remove a department from Reardon’s control, part of an escalating fight between Reardon and the county’s legislative branch, our online news partner The Seattle Times said.