Stephen Fisher leaves Mitcham Council after 29 years of service
Mitcham councillor Stephen Fisher – who served on the council for 29 years – has resigned after suffering a stroke. An Onkaparinga councillor has also taken leave to battle cancer.
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Long-time Mitcham councillor Stephen Fisher has resigned from his position due to ill health.
Mr Fisher, who had served on the council for nearly 30 years, was unable to continue in the role after suffering a severe stroke.
He is one of the longest-serving councillors in Adelaide.
Mr Fisher, who is understood to have been in hospital for some time, was unable to be contacted.
Onkaparinga councillor Beau Cowan has also revealed he is battling cancer.
Mr Fisher’s resignation will trigger a by-election in the Gault Ward in the coming months.
He is also the former president of development activist group Save Our Suburbs.
In a message to councillors, Mayor Heather Holmes-Ross said Mr Fisher was “intelligent, highly principled, generous of spirit, financially prudent, impossible to insult, and always the teacher with his huge historical knowledge of all things Mitcham”.
“During his 29 years serving as an elected member, Stephen championed his causes: planning and heritage, the environment, and social justice,” Dr Holmes-Ross said.
“He was dedicated to serving his community and through his passion and commitment has had an enormous impact in the shaping of our city.”
A memorial of some kind will be constructed to honour his service in the Gault Ward.
Dr Holmes-Ross has suggested this could come in the form of a plaque on a park bench bearing his name – in honour of a joke Mr Fisher tells about residents being able to take a rest from a councillor.
Meanwhile, in a public statement, Cr Cowan said he underwent a thyroidectomy in February after multiple cancerous tumours were discovered in January.
Further cancers have been discovered in his lymph nodes.
Cr Cowan, who has two young children, is being treated for hypothyroidism and will begin radioactive iodine therapy next week.
He apologised for not attending council meetings this year and said that would likely continue for the next few months.
“I am sincerely grateful for your support and understanding during this difficult period, and I am looking forward to returning at full health,” Cr Cowan said.