Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon announced he will step down at the end of May, citing false allegations of misconduct undermining his ability to carry out his duties.

The announcement was made during Reardon's state of the county address Thursday morning.

Reardon, who is serving his third term, has been caught up in a political controversy.

On Wednesday, the County Council removed the Department of Information services from his control.

The Democratic executive was facing a potential investigation after two aides admitted filing public information requests targeting his critics and political rivals. 

Reardon admitted his aides made the requests, but claims he was unaware of them.

The Information Services Department manages the county's electronic records. 

 The council said it took the department from Reardon's control to protect the records during the investigation.

Last year, Reardon was the subject of an investigation by the Washington State Patrol involving allegations of misuse of county funds.

The investigation found there was insufficient evidence to justify filing criminal charges.

In a statement,  Reardon said the time he's had to spend dealing with false allegations has distracted him from his job and taken a toll on his family.   Read Reardon's entire statement regarding his resignation.