The Deputy Mayor of Lakeshore is seeking another term in office, despite a major health setback.
Al Fazio has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that affects movement.
At a fundraiser Thursday for the Parkinson's Society of Southwestern Ontario, Fazio made his political intentions known while also telling the crowd about his diagnosis.
He learned about his condition in late 2016 but kept it to himself.
"The last three or four months there's been rumours out there that I'm leaving town, I had dementia and I was really sick and I was dying," says Fazio." I had people coming up to me and asking me, "Do you know my name?". Somebody put that out there and I just wanted to clear it up."
Fazio says he's not going to let the disease slow him down.
You know something? I'm still learning and the people that have this are still learning. So I wanted to make my mind up to manage my disease and like my wife said, "You've got to turn lemons into lemonade", and that's all we want to do," he says. We want to look forward, take a positive attitude and make Lakeshore greater than it already is."
Fazio has been on council for 21 years and if re-election, he plans to advocate for a wellness centre in Lakeshore.
Current Ward 4 councillor Tracey Bailey is also running for deputy mayor.
The municipal election goes October 22nd.