Yesterday, Western student Jeffrey Preston withdrew from the 2010 London city council election for undisclosed personal reasons.

A resident of London for eight years, Preston is a familiar face to many Western students. In his time at Western as an undergraduate, master’s and, now, a doctorate student, Preston has been a tireless advocate of increased accessibility on campus and beyond.

He rode his motorized wheelchair from London to Ottawa in 2008 to raise awareness about accessibility issues in Ontario. It’s an issue Preston has personally faced, having been in a wheelchair all his life since being diagnosed with Congenital Muscular Dystrophy at three-months-old.

This March, Preston made headlines again when he announced he was running for London city council in Ward 14.

But yesterday, things took a sad turn for the 25-year-old student. On his campaign website Tuesday afternoon, Preston announced his withdrawal from the election.

“The only way to describe it is heartbroken,” he said later, adding it was a tough decision to make.

“For personal reasons it’s just not realistic to go through with the campaign this season. Does that mean never? Absolutely not. I guess you could say bad timing.”

Preston stressed the election is just one way to make a difference in the community — something he still intends to do as a concerned citizen, even if through other channels.

“Election or not, I think we can make London a better place,” he said. “And I want to be a part of that.”

Preston added he will still be involved in the election by encouraging people to vote, helping create youth leadership opportunities, and continueing his advocacy work.

Jared Zaifman and Sandy White are the remaining Ward 14 candidates for the October election.