Who deserves your number 1 vote in the general election this time around?

Trotter

Apologies in advance to anyone who reckons its completely cheeky to ask, but Im just wondering what the opinions of boards.ie people are at this stage in the election race?

I've stuck in a poll for anyone who wants to vote early

Apologies also to anyone else who will run in the election because boards only allows 10 selections in the poll. I just chose the ones I felt most likely to be elected.

Im going with Roche, Cullen, O'Shea, Coffey at this stage.. although the last one keeps changing.

I dont think Deasy is much use to us now because out of spite he'll get nothing from the seniors in the party should FG do well. He gets nothing.. we get nothing.

christophicus

ME!!!

Nah seriously though i dont know who I will vote for, I reckon they are going to change their positions on policies etc so many times between now and the election that I will probably not make up my mind till a few days before the election.

Minto

I've always found Brian O'Shea approachable and friendly and hard working, so I would say i'll give him my number one.

OP was it by accident or on purpose the Mr. McCann was left out? Or is he not running? I can't wait to have a word with any Green Party canvassers who come around my way. You've been warned, lol!

Trotter

Minto wrote:

I've always found Brian O'Shea approachable and friendly and hard working, so I would say i'll give him my number one.

OP was it by accident or on purpose the Mr. McCann was left out? Or is he not running? I can't wait to have a word with any Green Party canvassers who come around my way. You've been warned, lol!

As for Mr. McCann.. I couldnt fit them all in.. I know I left him out, and maybe one or two others I havent heard of yet. So I picked the 10 I think have any kind of chance of getting into the Dáil, and in no particular order.

Draw your own conclusions

Bards

For Me, Cullen is the only Politician that we have had since the founding of the State that has actually delivered something tangible for Waterford. It is important for him to come out of the next G.E with a resounding mandate to maintain his cabinet seat. If FF (as is most likely) remain in government.

I am not a FF hack just a concerned Waterford/S.E citizen

merlante

If I could choose the four:
Cullen
Deasy
O'Shea
Roche

In roughly that order. If I could disqualify two candidates, I would pick Wilkinson and Kenneally.

Car Mad

What about Cllr Pat Leahy in kilmeaden there

Sully

Brian OShea iv heard good stuff about,
Darcy I always seem to hear more then the others,
Deacy probably because hes outspoken but that can come in handy sometimes.

Cant think of anyone else.. Ill see close to the time

Trotter

merlante wrote:

If I could choose the four:
Cullen
Deasy
O'Shea
Roche

With Mary Roche being an independent, she's going to need a lot of number 1 votes to get a quota. I'll be putting her in 1 because Im pretty sure Cullen will go in on the first count anyway. If people want Mary Roche in they'll have to put her high up on the list because she may not get as many transfers as the others who will get them on party grounds. Thats what I reckon anyway.

BIG-SLICK-POKER

WHAT ABOUT TAWDY

merlante

Trotter wrote:

With Mary Roche being an independent, she's going to need a lot of number 1 votes to get a quota. I'll be putting her in 1 because Im pretty sure Cullen will go in on the first count anyway. If people want Mary Roche in they'll have to put her high up on the list because she may not get as many transfers as the others who will get them on party grounds. Thats what I reckon anyway.

You might be surprised with Roche, she might get transfers from everywhere. She could be everyone's second choice. Still, that's not going to elect her on its own.

I'd be tempted to give her a number one, but it's dangerous to take your eye off the ball assuming that X or Y is going to automatically get elected. Also, things like topping the pole, etc., might matter for the likes of Cullen. I haven't made up my mind yet though.

If she can hang in there for a few of counts, things might go her way. Could this be the election where one of Wilkinson or Kenneally gets decimated? Here's hoping!

fricatus

merlante wrote:

Could this be the election where one of Wilkinson or Kenneally gets decimated? Here's hoping!

Be careful what you wish for merlante, because it might come true! Here's why your wish would be bad for Waterford: Bertie expects Cullen to deliver a second seat for FF here. If he does, he will reward him with a ministerial post. If not, Cullen could be seriously undermined. And make no mistake, FF are likely to be the core of the next government, possibly with Labour, which would be my preferred government (Pat Rabitte is still fudging the issue as far as I can tell).

Of course, if Roche gets the fourth seat, then she and Cullen could be part of the next coalition, whether Cullen is in government or not. Her presence (or the power that comes with being an independent in a tight-majority government) could be instrumental in delivering the goodies down this way.

Trotter

fricatus wrote:

Of course, if Roche gets the fourth seat, then she and Cullen could be part of the next coalition, whether Cullen is in government or not. Her presence (or the power that comes with being an independent in a tight-majority government) could be instrumental in delivering the goodies down this way.

We'll miss out on that if everyone puts her down as 4 though.

merlante

fricatus wrote:

Be careful what you wish for merlante, because it might come true! Here's why your wish would be bad for Waterford: Bertie expects Cullen to deliver a second seat for FF here. If he does, he will reward him with a ministerial post. If not, Cullen could be seriously undermined. And make no mistake, FF are likely to be the core of the next government, possibly with Labour, which would be my preferred government (Pat Rabitte is still fudging the issue as far as I can tell).

Of course, if Roche gets the fourth seat, then she and Cullen could be part of the next coalition, whether Cullen is in government or not. Her presence (or the power that comes with being an independent in a tight-majority government) could be instrumental in delivering the goodies down this way.

I said Wilkinson OR Kenneally. The last time the people nearly elected 3 FFers, I hardly expect they'll fall that far. I take your point though.

However, I think we could get too caught up in what Bertie will or won't do if we don't elect 2 FFers rather than just Cullen, or if Cullen doesn't top the poll, or whatever. These are concerns, but in my honest opinion these concerns do not outweigh the fact that if we elect Wilkinson or Kenneally, which sadly we will, 25% of our Dail representation is be down the toilet.

I would prefer, if I could wave a magic wand, to replace Rosencrantz or Guildenstern with Roche even at the risk of weakening Cullen. I think a dynamic electorate is a feared electorate, whereas sometimes a loyal electorate is not respected or rewarded. Although, on the other hand, if I had a signed letter from Bertie saying that Cullen was a 100% dead cert for a cabinet position provided we elected one of the above fools, then of course I would advocate that, because having a man in the cabinet has been a lifeline for Waterford.

With regard to Roche, my fear is that if she could be elected, that the wrong man would be kicked out, i.e. O'Shea. But maybe we'd be the better for the new blood, despite the trojan service that O'Shea is given?

Trotter

merlante wrote:

With regard to Roche, my fear is that if she could be elected, that the wrong man would be kicked out, i.e. O'Shea. But maybe we'd be the better for the new blood, despite the trojan service that O'Shea is given?

We've got to change the lineup.. granted Cullen has signed contracts for a lot of stuff that will come through over the next 10 years, but we absolutely need the new blood. A strong independent means there will be pressure on the 3 party TD's because I will expect the independent to shout and scream if our other TDs arent performing.

Heads Up! Mary Roche is on Vincent Browne on RTE Radio 1 now!! 10:10pm

decies

Please anybody but that mary roche :rolleyes:
Anyway she should stay at home and mind the children :eek:

Trotter

decies wrote:

Please anybody but that mary roche :rolleyes:
Anyway she should stay at home and mind the children :eek:

You just made any opinion you ever give not worth listening to.
:rolleyes:

merlante

decies wrote:

Please anybody but that mary roche :rolleyes:
Anyway she should stay at home and mind the children :eek:

I bet you're serious and all!

rogue-entity

Not sure who to vote for myself, I agree with the sentiments on Cullan, he has done good for us, and we need another Waterford man with a Ministeral post, but who knows, we could get a nice rural man as Minister for Communications, many then we will have someone that will give ComReg the balls they need to deal with €ircon [/rant]. But if we get another Waterford Man as Transport Minister.. maybe we will still get the second bridge, the motorway to dublin et al
*keeps dreaming*

decies

Cullianane must be in with a shout for the fourth seat but i suspect the fianna fail cronies will make sure its two seats for fianna fail and most likely no change in the waterford 4 seater.

AdMMM

I don't believe that Cullinane will be serious threat and there will be stories coming to surface in the coming weeks that will cast doubts in the minds of his potential voters, nevertheless, I reckon that both he and John Halligan will hurt each others chances of being elected and as a result both will miss out on the chance of being elected - although that forth seat will be very closely fought for.

I would not consider giving a vote of any kind to Mary Roche. Her performance in the Council isn't very awe-inspiring considering all she's done is join the pact and mirror the vote of her the more senior members. I've also heard through members of the Fianna Fáil party that she has agreed to join FF after the election as Cullen is set to retire after this election if he isn't awarded a Ministerial position (because lets face it, one of the only reasons why many are continuing to support him is because he is a Minister).

While I have been following FG over the past few years, I do not think that they are offering a viable candidate that would be of an advantage to the people of Waterford City. John Deasy and his pro-Dungarvan remarks just don't cut it for me and neither does his disgraceful behaviour over recent months which has pretty much rubber stamped the fact that he will be offered absolutely no place of potential influence within the party should they enter a coaltion. I know nothing of his FG counterpart but no doubt I'll get a comment from him soon on Bebo - a medium that FG are using for some petty electioneering.

As for my vote, it will most likely go to John Halligan. He's the candidate that I'm most familiar with and is certainly one of the more high-profile politicans on a local level. While I do question his ability to perform on a national level, I would be more than willing to offer him the opportunity!

fricatus

rogue-entity wrote:

maybe we will still get the second bridge, the motorway to dublin et al
*keeps dreaming*

No need to dream. The bridge is under construction. Two of the four sections of the Dublin motorway are under construction too, with the other two due to start during 2007.

Trouble for Cullen is, the only evidence of his work so far is a lot of mud and a pile of Ascon 4X4s driving around the place.

rasper

Don't get me wrong as some proper investment is long over due, however never had faith in cullen since the evoting fiasco.
Just feel we may have a very unfair of distributing taxpayers money as if it's just
for buying votes, cullen is a waste of space as a public servant but FF true and true. Imagine we have a board that watches for this type of spending

Van

fricatus wrote:

No need to dream. The bridge is under construction. Two of the four sections of the Dublin motorway are under construction too, with the other two due to start during 2007.

Trouble for Cullen is, the only evidence of his work so far is a lot of mud and a pile of Ascon 4X4s driving around the place.

Further evidence of his work is seen in the 50 million euro wasted on evoting, the failure to deliver a University or to deliver public radiotherapy at WRH as he promised. And nationall the failure to deliver on the Affordable housing as it was he who changed the Act to allow builders buy out of their obligations. Need I go on.....

Cork

Van wrote:

And nationall the failure to deliver on the Affordable housing as it was he who changed the Act to allow builders buy out of their obligations. Need I go on.....

The affordable housing point has more to do with choices made by local government.

Waterford does need a university but this has not happened. Why??

I think the next election will be won on the tax and the economy.

The protest vote will go to the Greens.

Having lived in Waterford - the city has improved alot.

It is good to see progress on the 2nd bridge.

Bards

rasper wrote:

Don't get me wrong as some proper investment is long over due, however never had faith in cullen since the evoting fiasco.
Just feel we may have a very unfair of distributing taxpayers money as if it's just
for buying votes, cullen is a waste of space as a public servant but FF true and true. Imagine we have a board that watches for this type of spending

e-voting = Dempsey his little brain child, not Cullen

Cullen got landed with it when he was appointed to Environment...

Roche who is currently in Environment still has not canned it and had every oppurtunity to do so

The_Thing

Never voted for anything or anyone in my entire life - never have, never will, couldn't care less.

Trotter

The_Thing wrote:

Never voted for anything or anyone in my entire life - never have, never will, couldn't care less.

Why post here then?

Bards

The_Thing wrote:

Never voted for anything or anyone in my entire life - never have, never will, couldn't care less.

and you're just the type of person who then complains about everything that's wrong with the World

Freddie59

Bards wrote:

and you're just the type of person who then complains about everything that's wrong with the World

How true. And there are people around the World denied the opportunity by force - and he squanders it. How intelligent.

Passport

Freddie59 wrote:

How true. And there are people around the World denied the oportunity by force - and he squanders it. How intelligent.

Get off your high hourse.

Why is everyone thinking so selfishly, should we not be voting in people who are good for the country rather than our petty city(maybee if we voted like this we would have some respectable candidates), and I pity ye if your excuse is that everyone else is doing it, or we have been left behind during this period of economic growth crap,

Freddie59

Passport wrote:

Get off your high hourse.

Why is everyone thinking so selfishly, should we not be voting in people who are good for the country rather than our petty city(maybee if we voted like this we would have some respectable candidates), and I pity ye if your excuse is that everyone else is doing it, or we have been left behind during this period of economic growth crap,

If you read the post properly you will see that the comments are directed at someone who DOESN'T vote? That explain it for you? In an ideal world we wopuld vote for those who are good for the country, as you put it.

However, when you look west and northwest from this county you see places like Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Galway who put their county first and country second.

It seems to have worked for them.;) I suggest we do the same. Martin Cullen is a good example of what true power does at the Cabinet table.

jasser27

they only care about you when elections are on,couldnt give a **** about any of them bar john halligan....hes not pretentious and he does listen.you could do worse,thats if youre at all bothered

Trotter

jasser27 wrote:

they only care about you when elections are on,couldnt give a **** about any of them bar john halligan....hes not pretentious and he does listen.you could do worse,thats if youre at all bothered

I presume you've spoken to all the candidates then?
What did Mary Roche and Brian O'Shea say to you when you spoke to them for example?

You did speak to all of them to figure they only care at election time...... didnt you?.......

merlante

Passport wrote:

Get off your high hourse.

Why is everyone thinking so selfishly, should we not be voting in people who are good for the country rather than our petty city(maybee if we voted like this we would have some respectable candidates), and I pity ye if your excuse is that everyone else is doing it, or we have been left behind during this period of economic growth crap,

I'd love to live in a world where facilities are delivered to Waterford as a matter of course and we can safely turn our minds to the great political questions of the day. But we just don't have that luxury. With only 4 seats, compared to the 8 in Limerick and 9 in Galway, iirc., we really have to make the most of them, and yes, be somewhat cynical, because if we slip up, I don't see our 'friends' in Kilkenny or Wexford picking up the slack for us.

County boundaries have ****ed up politics in Ireland.

Trotter

I've heard a good few people talking about voting for John Deasy. Can anyone share their own reasons for doing this?

Maybe I'm missing something, but he will never be able to do anything for this city,

A) because he has been seen to prioritise the county to the detriment of the city,

The powers the FG would die of laughter if they got into government and he asked for a proper job, and

C) They'd die of laughter if he asked for ANYTHING.. including money for the constituency.


Maybe I am being stupid, but why is he worth a vote?

merlante

Trotter wrote:

I've heard a good few people talking about voting for John Deasy. Can anyone share their own reasons for doing this?

Maybe I'm missing something, but he will never be able to do anything for this city,

A) because he has been seen to prioritise the county to the detriment of the city,

The powers the FG would die of laughter if they got into government and he asked for a proper job, and

C) They'd die of laughter if he asked for ANYTHING.. including money for the constituency.


Maybe I am being stupid, but why is he worth a vote?

I agree with the above. Still there's something about him, he impressed me on the radio a few times. He seems to work very hard, and maybe, just maybe he'll come good.

Anyway, he'll be elected regardless...

AdMMM

Is Jim Darcy running as well? Another FG representative with a bit of controversy under his belt....

kitty_kilkenny

I'll go to my grave before I'll vote for Sinn Fein.

Freddie59

Trotter wrote:

I've heard a good few people talking about voting for John Deasy. Can anyone share their own reasons for doing this?

Maybe I'm missing something, but he will never be able to do anything for this city,

A) because he has been seen to prioritise the county to the detriment of the city,

The powers the FG would die of laughter if they got into government and he asked for a proper job, and

C) They'd die of laughter if he asked for ANYTHING.. including money for the constituency.


Maybe I am being stupid, but why is he worth a vote?

As a FF voter, I was very impressed with John when he started out in Irish politics. No nonsense, not afraid to talk his mind - the complete opposite to what was on offer here at the time. I saw in him great potential for Waterford City and County. I even considered voting for him. And then he pulls a childish publicity stunt when the smoking ban was introduced. When he didn't need to to. That finished me (and some others) with him.

kitty_kilkenny wrote:

I'll go to my grave before I'll vote for Sinn Fein.

I'll be joining you. The day that the Shinners take power you can liquidate Ireland Inc. A sad fact.:(

Trotter

Well... its on! May 24th is the day.

Lets keep an eye on the progress of our candidates over the next few weeks. I'd be interested to hear about their performances on the doorsteps and in face to face conversations etc.

Im leaning towards
1 Mary Roche
2 Brian O'Shea
3 John Deasy (Only to make sure we have a TD on the govt side if FG/Lab get in)
4 Martin Cullen

Sully

Deasy hasnt many posters up compared to other FG candidates. None in Tramore. Whats with that?

Also, interesting to see vandalism of some of the posters that have appeared. Mainly Mary being targeted, but also others.

Trotter

Sully wrote:

Deasy hasnt many posters up compared to other FG candidates. None in Tramore. Whats with that?

Also, interesting to see vandalism of some of the posters that have appeared. Mainly Mary being targeted, but also others.

Maybe the other FG candidates needed the extra couple of weeks of individual publicity before Deasy steals the show.

What vandalism have you spotted? I havent seen any yet.

BBM77

If Fine Gael were to win the election and set up a government with whatever combination of parties there is no obvious candidate for a Waterford minister. John Deasy is unlikely to be given such a post by Enda Kenny as Deasy has often been a torn in his side and even tried to undermine him at one stage. I think it is fair to say that whether Waterford has a minister or not is of greater significance and makes a greater difference than which party is in power.

For me it has to be Martin Cullen, he is the only politician in my lifetime that has done anything of substance for Waterford. If any of the other three TD’s were never their it would make feck all difference.


Anyway, any vote that McCann doesn’t get is a good thing.

Sully

Trotter wrote:

Maybe the other FG candidates needed the extra couple of weeks of individual publicity before Deasy steals the show.

What vandalism have you spotted? I havent seen any yet.

Down around Tramore, mainly one independents poster where she was reffered to as a "dog" in one act of vandalism.

Others were to one Fine Gael candidate.

Trotter

Ollie Wilkinson has come out and said that he wants to see a 40,000 seater stadium in Waterford for the GAA. While I think thats absolute rubbish coming at a time where BS is flowing anyway, add that to him listing the University here as one of FF's achievements and he's making himself sound downright idiotic.

He knows well that there isnt a hope of building a 40000 seater stadium in Waterford in the next 5 years.

He also knows that there ISNT a University in Waterford!!

He's taking credit for the University in Waterford when there isnt one. My blood is boiling at the BS coming from this man over the past 6 weeks. :mad:

merlante

Trotter wrote:

Ollie Wilkinson has come out and said that he wants to see a 40,000 seater stadium in Waterford for the GAA. While I think thats absolute rubbish coming at a time where BS is flowing anyway, add that to him listing the University here as one of FF's achievements and he's making himself sound downright idiotic.

He knows well that there isnt a hope of building a 40000 seater stadium in Waterford in the next 5 years.

He also knows that there ISNT a University in Waterford!!

He's taking credit for the University in Waterford when there isnt one. My blood is boiling at the BS coming from this man over the past 6 weeks. :mad:

Sure he's also taken credit for public radiotherapy at the WRH, and took credit for the Whitfield clinic treating public patients before Whitfield were even given the go-ahead to treat public patients. When these little facts are pointed out to him, he becomes indignant!

mad man

Waterford City has a long history of electing dead ducks.Here is a few examples of our previous electoral representatives.

Wyse Bonaparte-I read the other day that when Queens Universities were established in Ireland it was a toss between Galway and Waterford.I can't remember the detail but WB could not argue the case sufficiently.I think he came across as eccentric and wasn't taken seriously.Queens Galway is present day NUI Galway.

John Redmond- Parnells successor,Largely a victim of destiny ie the radicalisation of Irish Politics post 1916.Forever associated with sending Irishmen to flanders and possibly the start of bias against Waterford by successive governments.

Jack Fahey- FF politician that held a junior cabinet position.Also at one time one of three FF TD's in a four seat constituency.

Billy Keneally-FF At the risk of offending someone who maybe related to the man I nelieve he did **** all for Waterford worth talking about.

Donal Ormonde-FF As above

Fad Browne-FF ditto

Eddie Collins-Had to resign due to inappropriate business activity while a serving TD

Paddy Gallagher-Workers Party.Combined with a lot of industrial unrest at the time may have given the impression of militancy in the city.

Brian O'Shea-Labour, Held a junior ministry and still managed to acheive nothing for Waterford.

Ollie Wilkenson-FF Enough said,

Brendan Keneally-Nice but dim and unfortumately no backbone

Martin Cullen-FF.Generated a hell of a lot of controversy.Not all deserved.However it is undeniable that Waterford has had more state investment because of this man than any other politician in our history.Unfortunately we may not see it again for another century if FF is not returned.Even if FF is returned his cabinet position is not secure unless he delivers Wilinson and/or Keneally.I think most of the electorate in Waterford know this and this is why it looks like he wil make it.Either way not voting for this Buffoon i.e voting for Keneally will split the vote and isolate Cullen.Or else voting for Cullinane which will also isolate Culen.

Cullinane,Darcy-are drips.Read their speeches in Waterford Today.

Our Country cousins,

Austin Deasy-FG held a cabinet position and secured Waterford regional hospital.Two FG TD's at ths time therfore securing Waterford a cabinet position.

John Deasy son of above-FG. Shot himself in the foot.No cabinet position because of his problems with Enda and because he will not deliver a second TD for FG.

I think due to our long history of electing donkeys you can see why Cullen is the only choice.Unfortunately that means Wilkinson as well.

Junior

Personally I would have liked to give my number 1 to Deasy, but his slide from young gun, up and coming terrier to that uncle no one likes to talk about cos of his mad stories has been quick and painful. He is a liability to himself and to the county, maybe when he 'matures' he'll just turn into another party hack dog doing tricks... Seriously wasted chance/talent. I just think now if I give him my number 1 what is it going to do for me/waterford/county and I don't think he can in reality deliever anything.

However in the back of my mind is a FG/Lab Government and as has been said elsewhere we [Waterford] are ****ed if that happens. So do you split your eggs into two baskets - or do you place them all in one basket ...

I think Cullen will be getting my number one, much as I dislike voting for FF, but I do think he's done well for Waterford... and doing well for Waterford is good for me ..

Trotter

Just had a scan through the Green Manifesto. The word Waterford isnt in there at all. Surprise Surprise.

I had a chat with a Mary Roche campaign supporter this morning too. The feedback for her from the doorsteps would lead me to believe she has a very good chance.

merlante

mad man wrote:

Waterford City has a long history of electing dead ducks.Here is a few examples of our previous electoral representatives.

Wyse Bonaparte-I read the other day that when Queens Universities were established in Ireland it was a toss between Galway and Waterford.I can't remember the detail but WB could not argue the case sufficiently.I think he came across as eccentric and wasn't taken seriously.Queens Galway is present day NUI Galway.

John Redmond- Parnells successor,Largely a victim of destiny ie the radicalisation of Irish Politics post 1916.Forever associated with sending Irishmen to flanders and possibly the start of bias against Waterford by successive governments.

Could disagree more regarding these examples. The only place I heard that version of events about Wyse was on wikipedia. From what I had read, he was a serious character who did sterling work to get the universities set up in Ireland. It's hard to argue about the geographical distribution if you can only fund 3 universities. Plus Waterford had other things, such as the port, which were more significant infrastructure at the time. From what I have read he was a very able politician, but admittedly, it's been a while since I read up on him.

And didn't John Redmond secure Home Rule prior to the war? If a certain Austrian gent had not been killed in Hungary or wherever, then things could have been very different. He could have been the man to get Ireland the same status as the other commonwealth nations, which may or may not have led to a republic, but at least would not have divided the island. This guy was a very able politician by all accounts, who ultimately had very bad luck.