Labour Party local election candidate for Kilkenny City, Sean Butler has brought his campaign to win an extra seat for the Labour Party on Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council into cyberspace.
Mr Butler who has being keeping an online diary of his election campaign since his selection in September has this week launched this online advertising campaign through the website of the Kilkenny Advertiser.
"I have being committed as a candidate to communicating my political ideas with as many voters as possible during my election campaign. Through my election blog www.electbutler2009.blogspot.com I have being able to outline my ideas on the key issues and also engage in debate with members of the public about the matters that effect Kilkenny City which is particularly important in the current climate," Mr Butler stated.
“Taking the next step for me is the launching of my online advertising campaign. As someone who believes that politics at the end of the day is about engaging with voters, understanding their needs and working to deliver on those needs the internet and online campaigning allows me interaction with many more people in Kilkenny City and it also means that people can engage with me and my campaign at a time of their choice.
“We have seen particularly for the recent US elections the power internet campaigning can have and can achieve. Long gone are the days of the internet being solely for young people. More and more on my leaflet drops around the City people are asking for my email address to contact me about issues they want addressed. Also people are able to keep updated with my campaign and its progress through logging onto www.electbutler2009.blogspot.com" Adding a new element to local elections in Kilkenny the Elect Butler 2009 Campaign site has a section for members of the public to give donations to help with running the campaign. "For far too long Irish politics has been linked with large donations from the private sector. This has not been healthy for the political system or the country as a whole.
“Taking learnings from the recent American elections my campaign has included a section on the campaign site to allow ordinary members of the public to make small donations to support my political campaign. This is a new venture in Kilkenny politics and I am glad to be setting the trend on this. The idea of members of the public being able to donation €10 to €20 to support a campaign they approve of is healthy and good for the political system. It is also something many local charities should look towards for fund raising," Mr Butler concluded.
