Buckley Byrne to run for town council elections

Sheila Buckley Byrne, who has twice contested local elections for the Fianna Fáil party, has said this week she will run for Athlone Town Council as an independent candidate in this June"s elections. Ms Buckley Byrne gave the idea of running as an independent candidate careful consideration after being omitted from the Fianna Fáil ticket for both Athlone Town Council and Westmeath County Council. 'I can confirm I"m going forward as an independent candidate for the Town Council. For me the selection process is over. There is no independent Fianna Fáil and there will be no adding Sheila to the ticket. I"ve had a lot of encouragement to go independent, and a lot of that was prior to the selection process being finished,' she said. She added that it was a new era, with a lot of the councillors being there for over 20 years and she felt the public should have a choice and options other than political parties. 'I had a very good first preference vote last time and I think it will hold. It might be that I"ve outgrown Fianna Fáil and my own way of thinking and working hasn"t helped the process. Myself and Fianna Fáil would not be compatible,' she said, adding that she had resigned from the party. 'My reason for going independent is that I see there is a new era for change and people are looking for a different direction and I"m looking for a new direction and I"m not getting that new direction in Fianna Fáil,' she added. Ms Buckley Byrne added that she was a little bit disillusioned with the Government as the Ministers were constantly saying they had a handle on the finances and then introducing new measures. She said she saw her decision as a positive move and there was no going back at this point. 'People who know me know I can bring a lot of skills to the table,' said Ms Buckley Byrne, adding that she saw a place on the Town Council as an expanded role of her work with Rehab, which would allow her to work for the wider community. 'Some people who don"t want to vote Fianna Fáil will use a protest vote and I hope they"ll use my candidacy to do that,' she said. She added that if elected to the council she would do business with anyone in the public interest. 'I"m interested in working for the people,' she said. She said, however, that she was disappointed not to have been put on the Fianna Fáil ticket, as the decision, in her view, did not add up based on the number of first preference votes she achieved last time out. 'I"m very disappointed. I have put a lot of years into Fianna Fáil and campaigning and made a lot of sacrifices along the way. It"s very disappointing to be told you"re not wanted on the ticket. I felt that I had gone so well the last time out and felt that I had good grass roots support,' she said. Ms Buckley Byrne added that she was somewhat disappointed with the selection process and felt that the democratic structure had been taken out of it. She added that she was a little bit baffled that there was no woman on either the Town or County Council ticket, saying the idea of the interview selection process had been to choose balanced tickets. 'I missed out by a handful of votes last time out and had increased my first preference votes on the time before, so generally I was building. I felt it would be hard for them to turn me away regardless of whether I was a man or a woman. It"s extraordinary to put out two tickets, in the town and county, without a woman. I really can"t figure it out,' she said.