Catherine Connolly's sister to replace her on council

eezipc

Ah yes. Good to see.
For a while there I thought Ireland might be changing and people might actually get jobs based on their knowledge and experience. Phew.....:P

"Catherine Connolly, newly elected Independent TD for Galway West/South Mayo, said picking her replacement was a hard decision and she “gave it careful consideration”.

She said she is confident she has picked the right person to fill her city council seat.

“I am absolutely positive Colette will be well able to hold her own. She’s been in it before and she will bring a wealth of experience.”

Deputy Connolly said she was adamant to get a woman to fill her vacant seat as she believes there are not enough women involved in politics at either a local or national level.

“I wanted a woman. I wanted a female candidate because there are so few women involved at council level.

“Women are just not coming forward into politics. Although there was a slight change for the general election, certainly at local level there hasn’t been a big change. It’s not a decision women take lightly and I certainly didn’t make it lightly,” she added."

http://www.galwayindependent.com/news/topics/articles/2016/03/23/4116704-catherine-connollys-sister-to-replace--her-on-council/

Taxburden carrier

Going on all over the country.
We've really excelled ourselves since 1916.

eezipc

I think the "Getting women into politics" line may be a bit stretched here.

Mexcanelo

Good old Nepotism

johnnyskeleton

Mexcanelo wrote: »

Good old Nepotism

The thing is though, Irish people have shown a clear propensity to vote for political legacies. So appointing her sister is likely to please the voters rather than annoy them.

Where a TD vacates a council seat, maybe there should be a bielection. But that may be too costly.

Mexcanelo

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

The thing is though, Irish people have shown a clear propensity to vote for political legacies. So appointing her sister is likely to please the voters rather than annoy them.

Where a TD vacates a council seat, maybe there should be a bielection. But that may be too costly.

Elections don't have to cost so much. They could easily have an online vote. No need for all those overpaid, do-nothing civil servants to sit on their ass in polling station and count center, costing the tax payer millions.

TerrorFirmer

The thing is, her sister lost that seat in the last election - so now she's been plonked back into it even though the electorate rejected her last time around.

I was surprised at this actually, didn't think Catherine Connolly would do it.

Quandary

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I was surprised at this actually, didn't think Catherine Connolly would do it.

the brass neck of many Irish Politicians is something to behold. Sure a well known South Kerry political dynasty have a family business getting lucrative contracts from Kerry Co Council.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/election2016/election2016-news-and-analysis/danny-healy-rae-company-highest-paid-for-works-by-council-383865.html

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/ireland/article1680120.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2016_03_19

eezipc

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

The thing is though, Irish people have shown a clear propensity to vote for political legacies. So appointing her sister is likely to please the voters rather than annoy them.

Where a TD vacates a council seat, maybe there should be a bielection. But that may be too costly.

It's funny as the Galway people don't really seem to care.

Fr Tod Umptious

I don't know these people nor do in live in the constituency.

But I'll try and make a general point.

The thing about political families is that they are political.

If a parent is a politician, local or national, the spouse and children also tend to be interested in politics.

And they grow up being exposed to elections, debates, events etc that all happen around politics.
And as they grow up they themselves get involved, taking on local issues in their community, being involved in students unions in college etc.

As a result they become very well versed in "politics"

This is why Helen McEntee was a great candidate to run for her fathers seat a few years back. She had grown up in politics, studied politics in college, she was perfectly qualified.

Very few sitting in traffic on the M50 or on the bus, or working on a wet morning on the farm are going to say "to hell with this I'm going to be a politician".

It something you almost grown up with and either have or have not an interest in.

So this lady is the sister of a TD and had been a Labour councillor herself, she is not some everyday accountant or shop assistant that was asked by her sister to take her council seat.

Triangla

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I don't know these people nor do in live in the constituency.

But I'll try and make a general point.

The thing about political families is that they are political.

If a parent is a politician, local or national, the spouse and children also tend to be interested in politics.

And they grow up being exposed to elections, debates, events etc that all happen around politics.
And as they grow up they themselves get involved, taking on local issues in their community, being involved in students unions in college etc.

As a result they become very well versed in "politics"

This is why Helen McEntee was a great candidate to run for her fathers seat a few years back. She had grown up in politics, studied politics in college, she was perfectly qualified.

Very few sitting in traffic on the M50 or on the bus, or working on a wet morning on the farm are going to say "to hell with this I'm going to be a politician".

It something you almost grown up with and either have or have not an interest in.

So this lady is the sister of a TD and had run for office herself, so I'd assume she is just not some everyday accountant or shop assistant that was asked by her sister to take her council seat.

And if her family were dentists and she never succeeded in qualifying herself would you be ok for her dentist sister to appoint her as your new dentist in her absence?

The reason there's so much wastage of public resources is you have people who simply cannot do their job properly taking up positions, quite frankly, that if they were professional vacancies being filled privately most of these people would not be called for interview.

stoneill

Her sister Colette Connolly, who lives in Shantalla, was not present at the meeting due to prior engagements however her sister Catherine was there. -

She didn't even bother to turn up.

stoplooklisten

If she lost her seat there is no way she should be reappointed like this.

barneystinson

Mexcanelo wrote: »

Elections don't have to cost so much. They could easily have an online vote. No need for all those overpaid, do-nothing civil servants to sit on their ass in polling station and count center, costing the tax payer millions.

Well say what you really think Mex!

Please enlighten me and tell me which civil servants staff polling stations?? And are all civil servants overpaid and do-nothing, or just the ones on polling stations?

And now for the real eye opener, do please tell us your master plan for how we can easily have the voting online (but securely and reliably of course).

barneystinson

stoplooklisten wrote: »

If she lost her seat there is no way she should be reappointed like this.

Well if you could only appoint someone who hasn't previously ran for election, you'd probably still be on here whingeing about how they appointed someone who isn't even interested in local politics.

Surely the issue here is simply that it should be up to the electorate rather than the councillor vacating a seat to appoint the successor. Would it not make more sense to just go back to the election results and offer it to the last person who was eliminated from the count...

Fr Tod Umptious

Triangla wrote: »

And if her family were dentists and she never succeeded in qualifying herself would you be ok for her dentist sister to appoint her as your new dentist in her absence?

The reason there's so much wastage of public resources is you have people who simply cannot do their job properly taking up positions, quite frankly, that if they were professional vacancies being filled privately most of these people would not be called for interview.

That's a stupid analogy and you know it.

A dentist needs a professional qualification, a politician does not.

The sister was a councillor previously
, how she lost her seat I don't know, a Labour backlash, the elimination of local councils in 2014, something she said or did ?

But she had already been a councillor so she had already won an election, which makes her far more qualified than any person off the street who never ran for election in their lived

washman3

Are they both primary school teachers by any chance...!!
Seems to be the normal requirement for a politician now.

Shurimgreat

Would it not make sense for the nearest loser in the last council elections to be co-opted?

Never ideal to see anyone appointed to elected office without an election.

Fr Tod Umptious

Shurimgreat wrote: »

Would it not make sense for the nearest loser in the last council elections to be co-opted?

Never ideal to see anyone appointed to elected office without an election.

But that would not work.

Let's say newly elected FG TD is giving up their council seat.

They were elected to the council on a FG mandate.
But what if the nearest looseyd is SF or AAA ?

Surely no one who voted for the FG petsoney in the local election wants to see their seat taken by someone from another party ?

Anyway theses coopted councillors only have a short term and can be up for election in the next locals again if they so please.

stoneill

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

But that would not work.

Let's say newly elected FG TD is giving up their council seat.

They were elected to the council on a FG mandate.
But what if the nearest looseyd is SF or AAA ?

Surely no one who voted for the FG petsoney in the local election wants to see their seat taken by someone from another party ?

Anyway theses coopted councillors only have a short term and can be up for election in the next locals again if they so please.

At least someone who was voted for gets in - not just a person named by the outgoing member.

Gerard3003

Sadly this is the case all over the country. It will also continue to be the case until a time comes when Ireland stops voting for someone on the basis that their father/mother/brother/sister/dog/cat was an elected official and therefore its an unspoken, god-given right that they deserve to be elected too. Our political system is quite the joke with parish pump politics and nepotism to the fore.

Fr Tod Umptious

stoneill wrote: »

At least someone who was voted for gets in - not just a person named by the outgoing member.

It makes no sense that for example a seat won by the hard left, AAA PBP, should be given to the centre right, FG, just because the FG person was the best loser.

At least with the current system the seat goes to the same party/ideology as the first person was elected on.
And the person being nominated is likely to be political in the first place, not just some randomer off the street.

Obviously an election for each post would be preferably, but selecting the best loser would be a farce.

eezipc

This can be twisted into any way you want. There are pros and cons.
However, I just cannot see how it's considered democratic that you appoint your sister to a position you have vacated.

Sam Russell

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Obviously an election for each post would be preferably, but selecting the best loser would be a farce.

If the best loser lost by a few votes, then the winner only won by a few votes.

In the overall run of things it makes little or no difference for the best loser gets it, but at least someone who stood for election and nearly won gets the job, rather than a relative who has never stood.

We have multi-seat constituencies so there is a range of successful candidates for people to approach - quite often more than one for the larger parties.

K-9

Did the sister stand for a Dáil or a Council seat?

I'm not surprised at TD's doing this. I was surprised at certain TD's who promise real change doing it though!

stoplooklisten

stoneill wrote: »

At least someone who was voted for gets in - not just a person named by the outgoing member.

This is surely a fairer way than appointing your sister. Democracy in action!?

pjmn

Ironically Catherine Connolly would have been among the first to 'the public outcry' stand if Fine Gael or Fianna Fail did this - then 5 minutes after she's elected to the Dail she does this! :mad: Well that's the last vote she'll ever get from me....

Lockstep

I must admit I didn't see this coming. I always thought Connolly was very principled. If Fianna Fáil did this, she's the sort who'd by shouting nepotism from the rooftops.

Collette Connolly ran for election in 2014 but was rejected by the electorate. Given she's also Catherine's sister, this is pretty poor form by Catherine no matter what way you look at it.

barneystinson

Can some one of ye whose panties are in a twist over this tell me what she should have done here?

It's not her fault that the system says she gets to co-opt her successor, is it? Or can she just say it's undemocratic and refuse to do it, and if so what happens then? Should she have held an informal by-election to see who the electorate want (in which case the biggest party who already have the most councillors will get another one)? Or invite applications from interested parties, and choose the one whom she believes will most closely mirror what she would have done? Or.....???

Fr Tod Umptious

barneystinson wrote: »

Can some one of ye whose panties are in a twist over this tell me what she should have done here?

It's not her fault that the system says she gets to co-opt her successor, is it? Or can she just say it's undemocratic and refuse to do it, and if so what happens then? Should she have held an informal by-election to see who the electorate want (in which case the biggest party who already have the most councillors will get another one)? Or invite applications from interested parties, and choose the one whom she believes will most closely mirror what she would have done? Or.....???

Exactly
The system allows for the outgoing candidate to select their successor for the remainder of the term, there is no other way to do it.

And like I said, its not that her sister is some political novice, one would expect that the sisters would have the same political outlook.

Lockstep

barneystinson wrote: »

Can some one of ye whose panties are in a twist over this tell me what she should have done here?

It's not her fault that the system says she gets to co-opt her successor, is it? Or can she just say it's undemocratic and refuse to do it, and if so what happens then? Should she have held an informal by-election to see who the electorate want (in which case the biggest party who already have the most councillors will get another one)? Or invite applications from interested parties, and choose the one whom she believes will most closely mirror what she would have done? Or.....???

She's certainly entitled to pick whoever she chooses. But picking a family member who was rejected by the electorate is Irish nepotism at its finest. Doubtless, through her activism she knows an array of fine independent community activists who she could have co-opted.

eezipc

barneystinson wrote: »

It's not her fault that the system says she gets to co-opt her successor, is it?

Politicians use that excuse very often. Does that make it right though?

barneystinson

Lockstep wrote: »

She's certainly entitled to pick whoever she chooses. But picking a family member who was rejected by the electorate is Irish nepotism at its finest. Doubtless, through her activism she knows an array of fine independent community activists who she could have co-opted.

I don't see the validity of your first point - how is a person who didn't get enough votes to be elected, somehow a worse choice than someone who didn't even bother their arse to stand?!

So if your family member is the person whose views most closely resemble yours (a reasonably likely prospect if you think about it logically), you can't pick them purely because it looks like nepotism even if the fact that they're your family...

The way I see it, if you're an independent you're actually damned no matter who you pick, because if they're not a family member they'll probably be someone else you've worked closely with... a CRONY!!

Which brings me back to my original point, what is the fairest way to deal with this situation so that the outgoing person isn't open to pissing and moaning from some quarter no matter what they do? Or maybe, just maybe, the world isn't perfect and neither is the solution in a case like this....... hmmmm

Lt Dan

Lockstep wrote: »

She's certainly entitled to pick whoever she chooses. But picking a family member who was rejected by the electorate is Irish nepotism at its finest. Doubtless, through her activism she knows an array of fine independent community activists who she could have co-opted.

Sure then they would endanger her chances of re-election if the said incumbent had notions of running in the next general election. They keep it in the family to ensure that they have their ear on the ground on local matters. Family will sacrifice for the greater good ie the TD Sister and allow her to take credit for whatever is achieved in the area

Sure, didn't Putin and the current Russian Prime Minister do a swap a number of years ago when Putin's first period as President came to an end?

Lt Dan

barneystinson wrote: »

I don't see the validity of your first point - how is a person who didn't get enough votes to be elected, somehow a worse choice than someone who didn't even bother their arse to stand?!

So if your family member is the person whose views most closely resemble yours (a reasonably likely prospect if you think about it logically), you can't pick them purely because it looks like nepotism even if the fact that they're your family...

The way I see it, if you're an independent you're actually damned no matter who you pick, because if they're not a family member they'll probably be someone else you've worked closely with... a CRONY!!

Which brings me back to my original point, what is the fairest way to deal with this situation so that the outgoing person isn't open to pissing and moaning from some quarter no matter what they do? Or maybe, just maybe, the world isn't perfect and neither is the solution in a case like this....... hmmmm

But sure, look at the Seanand over the years. Avril Power couldn't get on the Fingal Council seat (I believe, twice)

Aodhan O'Riordan , who to be fair polled well and his old Constituency was carved up, was disliked by many, but has a chance of getting into the Upper House

Speaking of the Upper House, any notice the candidates for each party. Funny how the parties, especially Labour, have all of a sudden forgot about the gender quota

eezipc

barneystinson wrote: »

I don't see the validity of your first point - how is a person who didn't get enough votes to be elected, somehow a worse choice than someone who didn't even bother their arse to stand?!

So if your family member is the person whose views most closely resemble yours (a reasonably likely prospect if you think about it logically), you can't pick them purely because it looks like nepotism even if the fact that they're your family...

The way I see it, if you're an independent you're actually damned no matter who you pick, because if they're not a family member they'll probably be someone else you've worked closely with... a CRONY!!

Which brings me back to my original point, what is the fairest way to deal with this situation so that the outgoing person isn't open to pissing and moaning from some quarter no matter what they do? Or maybe, just maybe, the world isn't perfect and neither is the solution in a case like this....... hmmmm

Is your surname Connolly by any chance?

barneystinson

eezipc wrote: »

Is your surname Connolly by any chance?

No, and I don't even know who she is or what constituency this happened in! I've got very little interest in politics - I don't know if I've ever even posted in this forum before - I just saw this thread in Latest and the title seemed interesting.

I like how you're attacking the poster and not the post though - logical argument not your forté..?

eezipc

barneystinson wrote: »

No, and I don't even know who she is or what constituency this happened in! I've got very little interest in politics - I don't know if I've ever even posted in this forum before - I just saw this thread in Latest and the title seemed interesting.

I like how you're attacking the poster and not the post though - logical argument not your forté..?

Sense of humour clearly not yours.....:D

barneystinson

eezipc wrote: »

Sense of humour clearly not yours.....:D

So, you've no actual argument based on anything resembling a thought out or logical position, or a realistic alternative to the current set up. Glad we cleared that up!

K-9

Mod

Back to discussing the topic please.