Nora Lamont: Maroondah councillor quits after 13 years to focus on health

A veteran Maroondah councillor and two-time mayor has quit to fight a rare disease, which she says has made her constantly fatigued.

Nora Lamont has quit Maroondah council after 13 years to focus on her health. Picture: Submitted

Maroondah Council will get a fresh face after a long-serving councillor quit to fight what she described as “a rare and chronic auto-immune disease”.

Nora Lamont announced her resignation on her Facebook page on Monday night after 13 years on council, which included stints as mayor in 2013 and 2018.

The veteran councillor was into her fourth term and was deputy mayor last year.

She told Leader her health condition had led to ongoing fatigue, and juggling council and her plum role with the Federal Government’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal had become too much.

“I work full time, and I’ve been on council for 13 years … I need to focus on myself for a while and do some other things,” she said.

“I’ve loved every minute of it (working on council), I wouldn’t change a thing, and today I feel a bit of shock (not being a councillor), but I’ll get over it.”

Ms Lamont, a Liberal Party member, said she would “absolutely not” be putting her hand up as a candidate for seats in the state and federal elections next year.

She unsuccessfully ran for preselection to be the party’s Eastern Metropolitan MP in 2020, with Matthew Bach chosen for the seat.

Ms Lamont rated the forming of the council’s disability advisory committee and her events at Ringwood railway station to promote mental health as two of her proudest achievements on council.

She also fondly reflected on starring in a parody of Psy’s 2012 hit Gangnam Style to promote Maroondah.

Ms Lamont said she plans to stay involved in the Maroondah community, saying she “can’t be held down for too long”.

The council and the Victorian Electoral Commission have confirmed a by-election will be held to find Ms Lamont’s replacement for Wonga Ward.

Labor-aligned former teacher Donna Mackinnon and community advocate Peter Feeney were candidates for the position at last year’s council elections.

The council’s chief executive, Steve Kozlowski, said the by-election was likely to be held towards the end of the first quarter of 2022.