A FORMER Enniscorthy town councillor who narrowly missed out on a seat on the County Council in the last election in 2014 has called for a change to the system regarding vacant council seats. With Fianna Fáil’s James Browne vacating his council seat after being elected to Dáil Eireann, party colleague Willie Kavanagh is to be co-opted onto Wexford County Council at a special meeting in Gorey this afternoon (Tuesday).
Former town councillor Jackser Owens has lashed out at this decision and has said that he is being discriminated against as an Independent candidate.
In the 2014 election, Owens narrowly missed out on a seat on the County Council. A total of eight representatives were elected from the Enniscorthy District, with Owens finishing ninth on the list, just a few votes short. For this reason, the former councillor feels that he should be first on the list to take the seat vacated by James Browne.
“I’m being penalised for not being a member of a political party,” he said. “I was in the council for for 20 years – from 1994 to 2014. I was very close to being elected the last time around. I think it should be up to the people of the Enniscorthy District to decide who takes the seat and I would call on the council to host a by-election.”
Responding to such criticisms, incoming councillor Willie Kavanagh said that the system just didn’t work that way.
“That’s not they system,” he said. “If you read the Local Government Act of 2012, there’s no provision for a by-election in local elections. The seat that’s being vacated is a Fianna Fáil seat and it will be taken up by someone from Fianna Fáil; just like if it was Fine Gael, it would be another Fine Gael person, or if it was an independent, they would put forward someone of their choosing.”
Mr Owens has lashed out at this system though, labelling it regressive.
“Micheál Martin is always talking about improving politics, well this is going back to the old style of politics of one out and one in,” he fumed. “This is not reform. Why can’t the people of Enniscorthy decide who they want to represent them? It’s wrong.”
Meanwhile, ahead of his co-option onto Wexford County Council today, Willie Kavanagh was looking forward to hitting the ground running.
“I’ve been involved with Fianna Fáil since I was a child,” the Oylegate publican said. “I ran for the local elections in 2004 and 2014. In 2014 I would have been James Browne’s running mate along with Barbara-Anne Murphy and Keith Doyle.”
“I’m looking forward to doing the best I can do for the people of the District and my own area,” he continued. “Fianna Fáil traditionally always had a seat south of Enniscorthy, but we haven’t had a representative in this area since 2001. I’m looking forward to working with Keith (Doyle) and Barbara-Anne (Murphy) and also the likes of Oliver Walsh and Paddy Kavanagh for the betterment of the local area here.”
Former councillor Jackser Owens who feels he should have been next in line for the vacant council seat. Pic: John Walsh