No matter what happens in the fall municipal election, Londoners in Ward 5 will have a new city councillor.
Councillor Maureen Cassidy announced on Friday she will not be seeking a third term in the ward she has represented since 2014.
"After a great deal of reflection, after many conversations with my family and with my closest friends and advisors, I have made the decision that this will be my final term," Cassidy said in a statement.
She called her eight years in municipal politics one of the greatest and most humbling experiences of her life. She said the decision to leave city hall is one that did not come easily.
"In truth, I feel a strong desire to stay on, to continue the work at the council table, to keep working to make London the best it can be, to ensure we are serving all Londoners, most especially those whose voice is not often heard, those who sit at the margins and who are sometimes overlooked," said Cassidy. "But for democracy to be effective, for city council to work the way it should, it is necessary to hear new perspectives and points of view. Regular turnover is healthy and necessary for our democracy."
Cassidy's time on council was not without some turbulence. During her first term, Cassidy shocked many of her council colleagues and Londoners when she stepped down as deputy mayor after confessing to having an affair with then-mayor Matt Brown. While running for re-election in 2018, she was one of two incumbent candidates targeted by aggressive smear websites that attacked her voting record on council and her personal life. It was later revealed through court documents the website was set up by a competitor.
Cassidy's announcement comes just hours before the 2 p.m. deadline to file nomination papers to run in the October 24 municipal election.
Currently, there are two candidates running in Ward 5 - Jerry Pribil and Connor Pierotti. Pribil is a London restaurant owner who ran unsuccessfully as the Progressive Conservative candidate in London North Centre in the provincial election this past June. Pierotti is a teacher.