O'GORMAN Appointed Senate Position

wexfordman

Colm O'Gorman, the pd candidate for wexford has been appointed to the Senate by bertie today. What do you reckon of this ? P.IE have a lot of comments to make on it, but you seem to get a lot of hacks on the site, so looking to see if people on boards give a more reasoned response.

Wexfordman

gandalf

Looks like admitting defeat before he even runs for election to me and Bertie stacking the Senate with "friendly" faces.

wexfordman

why wou lthat be ? it only lasts till the appointment of the new gov, it is no gaurantee of him being re-appointed should he not get a dail seat ?

gandalf

Dunno so, raising his profile for the election then?

wexfordman

that would be my thinking. A senator in wexford is a goodprofile

Tricity Bendix

If he's not a Senator after the Seanad 'elections' in the Summer, will he be entitled to the Seanad pension?

wexfordman

I think the answer is no, all new nominations from then on in. But hopefully he wont be able to take a senate position, as he will be wexfords new Dail TD:D after the 24th

Wexfordman

J.S. Pill

How's this guy doing in the opinion polls??

A PD in Wexford? Thats like the Green Party taking over Saudi Arabia

swiss

J.S. Pill wrote:

How's this guy doing in the opinion polls??

A PD in Wexford? Thats like the Green Party taking over Saudi Arabia

According to one opinion poll, not so well.

Het-Field

O'Gorman has been appointed to the seat vacated by Sen Kate Walsh who died two weeks ago. RIP.

It was a PD seat, and id say Bertie left it up to HQ to nominate a new senator, and there is no more a popular man then Colm O Gorman

J.S. Pill

swiss wrote:

According to one opinion poll, not so well.

There was no way he'd ever have edged ahead of any of the sitting TDs

The_Minister

gandalf wrote:

Dunno so, raising his profile for the election then?

Between one election and another I can see that working, but it wouldn't get him much publicity within four weeks of the election.

Voipjunkie

Personally I found it disapointing that he chose to stand for a political party it has tied the hands of the 1 in 4 group since the announcement and has associated that group with one party which is unfortunate. If he wanted to stand I think he should have stood as an independent or left 1 in 4 when he went the PD route.

E92

gandalf wrote:

Looks like admitting defeat before he even runs for election to me and Bertie stacking the Senate with "friendly" faces.

When I heard it yesterday the first thought that came into my head was that they knew he hadnt a hope in getting a seat in Wexford. I mean why else would you put someone in there before the election is even over?

wexfordman

Voipjunkie wrote:

Personally I found it disapointing that he chose to stand for a political party it has tied the hands of the 1 in 4 group since the announcement and has associated that group with one party which is unfortunate. If he wanted to stand I think he should have stood as an independent or left 1 in 4 when he went the PD route.

What has an independent ever acheived in government ?

I also dont think it has hurt the 1in4 group, to say they are associated with any gov party is daft. He, as far as I am aware has not been working for 1in4 for several months, and certainly I dont think he will be returning to 1in4 when he gets elected.


1in4 is not about colm o'gorman, it is about supporting and championing the rights of people who have been abused. COG has to move on at some time you know.

Wexfordman

wexfordman

E92 wrote:

When I heard it yesterday the first thought that came into my head was that they knew he hadnt a hope in getting a seat in Wexford. I mean why else would you put someone in there before the election is even over?

To show the local wexford public how much faith the party has in him, and where they see him going if he gets elected. Senate party spokesman for education to me tells a lot. At this stage you will have guessed, I am a fan The appointment only lasts till the introduction of the next governemnt.

Wexfordman

gilroyb

E92 wrote:

When I heard it yesterday the first thought that came into my head was that they knew he hadnt a hope in getting a seat in Wexford. I mean why else would you put someone in there before the election is even over?

To ensure that the PDs get their full complement of votes from outgoing TDs/Senators when it comes to voting for the next Seanad. Also though as has been mentioned, it also shows that the party feels he's a capable person.

Putting him in now does not make him a Senator after the next Seanad election ,which is basically just after the general election, so it's in no way admitting defeat.

athtrasna

Interim senator is a great job. More will be appointed if any current senators get elected to the Dail (the replacements will be senators for a couple of weeks until the Senate elections). Perks - Dail access, parking, highly subsidised bar..all these are lifetime perks not just senate perks. Ask Martin Mackin!

wexfordman

Well I cant see him making much use of the perks over the next few weeks. He'll likely be out canvasing between now and when the senate is disolved.

Wexfordman

athtrasna

The Senate isn't dissolved until the day of the Senate Election, Senators sit the whole way through. Plus they're lifetime perks so he has plenty of time to enjoy them!

wexfordman

athtrasna wrote:

The Senate isn't dissolved until the day of the Senate Election, Senators sit the whole way through. Plus they're lifetime perks so he has plenty of time to enjoy them!

I can think of better perks, and easier ways of getting/using them to be honest.

Wexfordman

Voipjunkie

wexfordman wrote:

What has an independent ever acheived in government ?

I also dont think it has hurt the 1in4 group, to say they are associated with any gov party is daft. He, as far as I am aware has not been working for 1in4 for several months, and certainly I dont think he will be returning to 1in4 when he gets elected.


1in4 is not about colm o'gorman, it is about supporting and championing the rights of people who have been abused. COG has to move on at some time you know.

Wexfordman

Well I.m sure the independents like healy rae, fox, and blaney would disagree but the point is that if elected as an independent he would be a voice not tied to party political lines.


BTW he is still the director of 1 in 4 and in my move the organisation has benn stifled in that it is not free to comment and champion childrens rights when the leader of his party is largely responsible for a lot of the issues.

Red Alert

1 in 4 is an adversarial organisation who has trained its guns specifically at the institutional catholic church (compared to other bodies like Swim Ireland etc).

I think the man has no credibility so it really is clutching at straws.

wexfordman

Red Alert wrote:

1 in 4 is an adversarial organisation who has trained its guns specifically at the institutional catholic church (compared to other bodies like Swim Ireland etc).

I think the man has no credibility so it really is clutching at straws.

HA Thats the most ridiculous thing i've heard.

wexfordman

Voipjunkie

wexfordman wrote:

HA Thats the most ridiculous thing i've heard.

wexfordman

It might be better if you said why ?

spanner

Voipjunkie wrote:

Personally I found it disapointing that he chose to stand for a political party it has tied the hands of the 1 in 4 group since the announcement and has associated that group with one party which is unfortunate. If he wanted to stand I think he should have stood as an independent or left 1 in 4 when he went the PD route.

I agree its a real shame he went for the greens out of all the wexford canadates I find him the best but I just could never vote for the PDs

wexfordman

Red Alert wrote:

1 in 4 is an adversarial organisation who has trained its guns specifically at the institutional catholic church (compared to other bodies like Swim Ireland etc).

I think the man has no credibility so it really is clutching at straws.

I fin this hilarious, because, 1in4 is the exact opposite for a start.Go look at the website. I find it hilarious, because the Catholic church has been one of the most advesarial orginasations in the world when it comes to protecting its own interestests.

I also find it hilarious that you say the man has no credibility. He has oodles of it, your problem is that you do not like the man, or what he has done, and that is fair enough, I have no problem with that. But he has more credibility than any politician out there, and that is no minor statement.



Wexfordman

Just to keep things out in the open, I know the man quite well.

FlutterinBantam

The guy can speak well and quite frankly his verbosity irks me at times.

I can't stop pigeonholing him into a into the opportunistic niche,where his alleged causes are used as vehicles for personal advancement.

I realise this it a personal hunch,and quite probably is off the mark, but I say it as I see it.

That's the way I see it.

wexfordman

FlutterinBantam wrote:

The guy can speak well and quite frankly his verbosity irks me at times.

I can't stop pigeonholing him into a into the opportunistic niche,where his alleged causes are used as vehicles for personal advancement.

I realise this it a personal hunch,and quite probably is off the mark, but I say it as I see it.

That's the way I see it.

Well, I dont think it would be fair to say that he planned the events of his life to lead him to where he is today. I would say you are off the mark to be honest, but entitled to your opinion anyway. He put himself in a very risky and precarious position in tackling the issues that he has (remember a few years ago he was regularly receving death threats etc).

Wexfordman