With the upbeat campaign message and song of ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, Labour’s Councillor Keith Martin is hoping to make a historic breakthrough in southwest Mayo and take one of the four seats in the Westport electoral area.
But campaigning in an area as big as County Louth is no easy task, especially when one considers the number of boreens, bog roads, and back roads that Cllr Martin must travel to meet the those thousands of elusive voters who do not live in the towns and villages of west Mayo.
To allow him to meet the electorate in a bit of comfort and privacy, Cllr Martin has converted a small caravan into a mobile clinic which travels the electoral area, allowing him to work from his office no matter where he is.
“It was a case of Mohammad going to meet the mountain as this is one of the largest electoral areas in the country and my constituents are spread out from the town of Westport out to Clew Bay and Clare Island, down to the boarder with County Galway and back up to Westport. This mobile clinic allows me to meet people in comfort and privacy. Its also great for my canvassers and I to have a base to operate from.”
The caravan is decked out with Labour Party logos and Cllr Martin’s website and contact details, and inside it is kitted out with a gas stove and sink, shelves of books and application forms, and a desk for paperwork and a laptop.
“Its not super high tech but we do have sat-nav, wireless broadband, and tea and coffee facilities on board and I use the shower room as a soundproof area to use the phone for my radio interviews and when discussing sensitive or confidential issues. It’s not Air Force One but it does the job. In fact, we call the caravan Labour Force One and it’s getting a great reaction from the public who often wave or give a honk on the car horn when we pass by.”
In addition to setting up shop in villages and on the side of the road Cllr Martin is taking his clinic to every church in the area to maximise the number of voters he can meet before polling day on June 5. From a speaker system in the towing car Cllr Martin addresses a crowd wherever he can find them and when on the road the speakers blare out the 1990s hit ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ by D:Ream.
Once elected Cllr Martin has given a commitment to keep his mobile clinic on the road so that voters will see as much of him after he’s elected as they did before.
“I think the message has to be one of hope. People are tired of recrimination and blame and we all know who is responsible for putting us in this mess. My message is one of hard work and hope. I believe if we’re positive, if we work together then things can only get better.”
