A two-term Chatham-Kent councillor has announced he won't be running in this fall's municipal election in order to focus on his health instead.
Ward 6 Councillor Bob Myers announced at Monday night's council meeting that he will not be running for the next term after undergoing open-heart surgery recently.
"Just the whole concept of putting up signs and going door to door -- I don't think that would be in the best interest of my health," says Myers. "My wife and I talked about it and decided that it would be best for everybody in my family if I just called it a day."
Myers was absent the last handful of council meetings while he was recovering from his surgery. He says he's had a heart murmur for years and has been getting echo-cardiograms to monitor it.
"My most recent one was this February and the results of that showed that I had a real serious problem -- I had aortic stenosis," he explains. "I was referred to London to have consultation for surgery and that all happened in a matter of days."
Myers says he is doing a lot better now and feeling almost back to normal. However, the councillor still has a regiment of medication and exercise to focus on.
He says he's very happy to finish off his political career with such a good group of people.
"This particular session of council I find is very conscientious. They really care about the whole community and it's been very enjoyable working the last four years with this particular group," he says.
Myers was first elected to Chatham-Kent Council in 2010. Prior to that, he served on the City of Chatham Council from 1982 to 1985.