KEENE, NH – Keene City Councilor Raleigh Ormerod, who was reelected to the seat this past November, has announced he’s resigning from the Council.

On Thursday’s Keene City Council agenda is a resignation letter from Ormerod, effective April 1st. He doesn’t elaborate on the reason for his resignation in the letter to the council but told WKBK Thursday morning that it has to do with where he can have the most impact.

“I have lived in Keene for 5 1/2 years and have served on the school board or city council or (mostly) both the whole time,” Ormerod said in an email. “There are 16 public officers on the Keene City Council, but only 9 on the school board. I serve on 3 standing committees at KBE. So you can see I have a greater impact there, and am seeking even more….  I will have more bandwidth for leadership and advocacy in the education sector.”

Ormerod said his various roles add up to a lot of time spent away from home with his family, and in leaving the Council he can “look forward to enjoying Keene from a different perspective,” and have more personal time.

“I also plan to do more with my artwork, finding the best markets for my unique style of digital painting on metal – as well as raising the profile of arts and culture in the area.”

Ormerod will continue his rotating host duties for WKBK’s What’s Happening program every Saturday from 10 am – noon.

The resignation leaves a vacancy in Ward 1. No word yet on how the City will fill that position.