CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE REPORT FROM WMAL'S MARTIN DICARO.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Days after his guilty  conviction, Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold has resigned starting Friday.

The Republican executive was found guilty earlier in the week of office misconduct. He will be sentenced in March.

Republican councilman Derek Fink tells WMAL.com that the resignation will be positive for the county.

"I'm happy the county executive made the decision to resign and allow the county to move forward," he said. "Obviously it's been a dark cloud that's hung over the county for quite some time and a major distraction for all of us."

In the interim, John Hammond will act as Leopold's temporary  replacement until the council picks another executive. They have 30 days from Friday to find a replacement, also a Republican.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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