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Usher, who turns 79 next week, has served five consecutive terms on city council and championed the need for more diversity at city hall.

He said that’s been a goal of his since he was elected in 2000, one he hopes to see accomplished after the 2018 municipal election.

“I have been encouraging other people to run over the past years, but particularly over the past two years I’ve been focusing on women . . . to increase the number of women in municipal government,” he said.

Though he has enjoyed serving Londoners, it’s time to make room for women around the council horseshoe, Usher said.

As for his retirement plans, Usher said he will work on an update to a book he published about prostate cancer – he’s a survivor of the disease – and embark on other writing projects.