CALGARY -- Residents of Ward 8 will not have an incumbent on the ballot for councillor this fall.

Evan Woolley has announced that he will not seek re-election as the ward's representative in the upcoming municipal election.

Woolley, who was first elected to council in 2013, released a letter of gratitude to his constituents on Friday morning in which he said his decision did not come lightly. He adds that he is "less cynical about the potential of politics" then he was at the start of his first term and his move to the private sector is a step toward his attempt to live his life to the fullest.