Councillor Terry Whitehead return to work, after medical leave of absence

Hamilton City Council is operating closer to full strength.

Ward 14 Coun. Terry Whitehead returned to work on Monday, eight months after announcing that he was taking a leave of absence to deal with significant health challenges.

In a release, Whitehead says that doctors have cleared him to return to work, starting with Monday’s meeting of the public works committee, and that he will “heed their advice on work/life balance.”

He adds that he looks forward “to reconnecting and addressing the challenges of our community and the Ward 14 residents.”

Whitehead was last in attendance for virtual council and committee meetings in December 2020.

Ward 6 Coun. Tom Jackson and Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson have been assisting the Ward 14 office in the absence of Whitehead, who was first elected to represent residents of Hamilton’s west mountain in 2003.

City council will return to full strength, once it has appointed a replacement to Chad Collins in Ward 5. Collins’ seat became vacant in September when he was elected Liberal MP in the riding of Hamilton-East/Stoney Creek.