Regional chair Ken Seiling announces he will not be seeking re-election

Ken Seiling on his proudest accomplishments From CTV Kitchener's Maleeha Sheikh: After 33 years as chair of Waterloo Region, Ken Seiling won’t be seeking another term.

It's the end of an era for a local politician.

Ken Seiling, Waterloo Region's chair for the past 33 years, announced his retirement Wednesday night.

Seiling said he will not be seeking re-election after 10 terms as chair, saying he's feeling confident it's time to move on and open doors for other candidates.

"I think it's important that people realize that we've taken great strides here and led the province in terms of preserving our community, our land, our rural areas, having a balanced community, a great place to live, and a livable community. And if I've had a small part in that, that's great," Seiling said.

Throughout his time as regional chair Seiling said one of his greatest accomplishments was developing a growth management strategy for the region, which lead to the creation of the new rapid transit system.

Seiling is the only person who has ever been publicly elected to the position because the province only made that a requirement in 1997.

Seven years before becoming a regional councilor Seiling served as the Mayor of Woolwich, and two years prior to that he was a Woolwich Township councillor.

Seiling still has six and a half months left in his term as Waterloo Region’s chair.

With reporting by CTV’s Tina Yazdani