Pat Catena stepped down as Allegheny County Council president Friday amid continued fallout over a controversial campaign mailer tied to his unsuccessful bid for Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 45th House District.

Council Chief Clerk Jared Barker said Catena informed fellow council members Friday morning that he would vacate the leadership post. Catena will remain on council representing District 4, Barker said.

His resignation from the president post comes just days before council members were expected to consider removing him from the presidency. A simple majority of seated members would have been required to oust him, with that vote scheduled for Tuesday’s council meeting.

Instead, council members will now vote to elect a new president.

“Council members are having individual discussions regarding the next nomination,” said Councilwoman Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, District 8, in a statement to TribLive.

It was not immediately clear Friday who might seek the role, and Naccarati-Chapkis did not elaborate in her statement.

The backlash stemmed from a campaign mailer Catena sent during his Democratic primary campaign that criticized his opponent, Brittany Bloam, for receiving support from a political action committee that advocates for transgender athletes.

Catena later apologized for the mailer but declined at the time to step down as council president, prompting a near majority of his fellow council members to move toward removing him.

Seven council members — Jordan Botta of District 13, Dan Grzybek of District 5, Paul Klein of District 11, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling of District 1, Lissa Geiger Shulman of District 3, and at-large members Bethany Hallam and Alex Rose — called for Catena to resign in a May 13 letter.

Botta, the first openly LGBTQ person elected to council, said he was surprised by the rhetoric in the mailer and that Catena personally reached out to him afterward to talk about the incident.

“I don’t think that Pat is motivated by hate or malice,” Botta said Friday.

Still, Botta said he hopes the council’s next president reflects a commitment to inclusion.

Catena told TribLive on Wednesday that the mailer, which he said was intended to appeal to more conservative voters, was a “misstep.”

Catena could not immediately be reached for comment Friday morning.