The latest hopeful to throw his hat into the ring, independent candidate Jack Moran, launched his local election campaign last week in Athlone’s Creggan Court Hotel.
The Glasson-based businessman is taking his first stab at a Westmeath County Council seat for the Athlone area in this June’s local election, and says it was “a case of now or never” when he made the decision to run.
“I have been thinking of running for the council for a number of years, and decided instead of talking about it I would put my name in the hat. I think there is a need for more candidates, especially independent candidates, to give people more choice.
“As an independent I can take an independent view without being influenced by party politics,” he told the Advertiser.
Mr Moran has lived in Glasson for the past 20 years, is married to Kathy, and has two daughters Catherine and Rosalyn. He runs his own business in Edenderry, and for 22 years ran Midland Farm Feeds in Athlone.
As demonstrated by the impressive numbers who attended Mr Moran’s launch, the businessman already has a strong team backing him and is continuing to drum up support on the campaign trail.
“I have been well supported by the general public, and people are pleased there is an independent candidate. They are looking for choices and for change,” he said.
“I have been out on the campaign trail for the past two weeks and the response has been very positive, but nothing is definite until the votes are counted on June 6. I have a good team around me, and I would like to thank them.”
Mr Moran’s main concerns include the retention of jobs in the region, the efficient and economical delivery of council services, and increased transparency in rural planning.
“I would like to ensure that planning regulations are equally applicable to everyone. There should be fairness in planning. There are anomalies in the way it is implemented, and it is difficult to get a hard and fast set of rules. This is a regular complaint in rural parts of the constituency,” he remarked.
For further information on Jack Moran’s campaign, visit www.jackmoran.ie
