When Margaret Cox failed in her bid to win a seat in Galway West in the 2007 General Election it looked as if the Cox era, which had dominated local politics for many years, was over.
However speculation is rife throughout The Claddagh that Margaret’s brother Tom Cox is considering throwing his hat into the ring and standing in Galway City West in the 2009 Local Elections. If he were to stand, it would probably be as an Independent, given that Margaret ran as such in 2007.
Tom Cox has experience of running in the ward (when it was known as the South Ward ) before. He stood for Fianna Fáil in 2004 and came within a whisker of taking the seat. At the time his defeat was put down to a lack of co-ordination among the fractious Fianna Fáil camps in the area.
His good showing - he polled a final tally of 1,373, narrowly behind the eventual winner of the last seat Cllr Niall Ó Brolcháin on 1,413 - might encourage him to stand again.
However going as an Independent is different to going as a party member and he will not have the party machine behind him, which is always something of an advantage, no matter how fractious things may be.
It is only speculation in the area at this point and it remains to be seen if Mr Cox will throw his hat into the ring. Yet given his decent showing last time and the ward now increased to five seats, he may find it tempting.
