After indicating that he would run for re-election in the fall, Castlegar mayor Kirk Duff says he has made “the very difficult decision” not to seek another term for health reasons.
In a Facebook post, he wrote: “I have been living with a lung disease for the past 5-6 years. It’s not cancer, it’s called sarcoidosis. It causes inflammation of the lung tissue, then the immune system goes after it resulting in scar tissue in my lungs.”
Duff said when he decided to run for mayor in a by-election last year, he received a “clean bill of health” and the disease was no longer active.
“Unfortunately, this past spring it came back with a vengeance. On top of that I also contracted a rare form of pneumonia.”
Duff says he’s disappointed that it will force him to give up “this fantastic job that I have been the most fortunate to have been given by the voters of Castlegar.”
However, he says he will continue to do the job full-time until the next mayor and council are sworn in in November. Nominations open at the end of the month and voting day is Oct. 15.
Prior to being elected mayor, Duff had served many years as a city councillor.