This article is from page 11 of the 2011-01-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
EAST Clare councillor Joe Cooney has told The Clare People that he would “give strong consideration” to running in the upcoming General Election, if Fine Gael headquarters sanctioned an 11th hour move to add a fourth candidate to the party’s ticket in the county.
However, moves locally to have Cllr Cooney, who topped the poll in the Killaloe Electoral Area in 2009 with a surplus of over 1,000 votes, could finally be dashed tonight, Tuesday, when Fine Gael election strategists finally reveal their full hand for the Clare constituency.
“At the moment we have three candidates,” Fine Gael Director of Elections, Phil Hogan told The Clare People .
“I don’t see that changing, but we have a meeting this Tuesday night and if a fourth candidate was added the decision would be taken there,” he added.
“I’d give it strong consideration,” said Cllr Cooney when pressed on Dáil ambitions while attending the re-enactment of the 1921 Glenwood Ambush in Kilkishen.
“I got nearly 2,800 votes in the 2009 local election. We have three men in the race at the moment and it’s up to headquarters if they want to add a fourth. If the party came back and said that they were adding that fourth candidate, I would give it consideration.
“At the moment they’re leaving it at three and if it stays like that, that’s the door closed, end of story. It’s totally up to headquarters. We are bound by headquarters and I am hap- py with that. There is a strategy here in Clare, so it’s up to headquarters. Whatever they decide we’ll go with it,” added Cllr Cooney.
“Any decision in relation to a fourth candidate is a matter for the director of elections and his team – they are Frank Flannery, Phil Hogan and Tom Curran,” said Deputy Pat Breen, who has endorsed Cllr Cooney’s credentials as a possible candidate.
“I have no problem whatsoever if they want to add a fourth candidate. I have made that quite clear to the candidates involved. We had four candi- dates in the last elections in 2007 and secured two seats.
“The advantages of running four candidates is that you maximise your vote and you get a big vote. The disadvantage is that you dilute the vote that second preferences may not transfer. It’s a call the National Executive have to make. Whatever decision they make, I’d abide by that.
“At this stage I would hope that the National Executive would confirm if they’re to add a candidate, so we can finalise our team to get ready for an election,” added Deputy Breen.