Huntsville council will soon have to decide how to fill a vacant mayor's seat.
Scott Aitchison will officially resign as mayor at Monday night's council meeting as he prepares to make the transition to Ottawa as a Member of Parliament.
"It's still surreal and is incredibly humbling." Aitchison became MP-elect for Parry Sound-Muskoka during the federal election this past Monday. "I want to be a strong, loud, vocal leader for our communities."
With nearly two decades in municipal politics, Aitchison says he feels ready for this move, and his colleagues agree.
"He's a person that's in this business for all the right reasons," says Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith. The two have worked closely over the years, and Smith feels confident Aitchison will take the region's issues to the nation's capital, like the hot-button matter of affordable housing.
"The Liberal's campaigned on this issue, we want to make sure Muskoka-Parry Sound is adequately represented, and I would like to be actually involved in whatever committee work," Aitchison says.
Leaving his post is bitter-sweet says for the former town councillor, who is currently serving his second term as mayor.
"Being the mayor has been the greatest honour of my life, and I hope this next chapter is just as great of an honour."
Council will be tasked with deciding whether to appoint a new mayor or hold a byelection.
