Two candidates in the forthcoming County Council election have roundly condemned the vandalism and destruction of public property occasioned by persons involved in defacing election posters and road signs outside Westport over the weekend. The graffiti, which appeared to have been designed to pit two of Westport’s popular town councillors against each other, has had the opposite effect with both Peter Flynn and Keith Martin coming together to remove the posters early Sunday morning and condemn the cowardly act which they believe to have been politically motivated.
Councillor Peter Flynn said: “The spraying of graffiti over public property and election posters is particularly abhorrent on the same day President McAleese came to Westport to celebrate our success in winning the National Tidy Towns award. Whilst the town was celebrating community effort the perpetrators of this vandalism were busy defacing property without regard for the hard work of the majority. While posters will not win or lose elections they do play a role in making the public aware of the upcoming election and the candidates involved. I want to assure Cllr Martin and all other candidates that no member of my campaign team and Fine Gael had anything to do with these acts and spraying Cllr Martin’s posters with my name was nothing short of pathetic.”
The Fine Gael councillor added that due to replacing the posters which already cost exorbitant amounts that: “Considering that 90 per cent of the cost of running an election for any candidate or Party is related to posters it really is time to review of the whole process of postering. In my view the world of politics would be a better place if we eliminated political donations and church gate collections which ultimately fund candidates posters and make it a level playing field for every candidate.”
Councillor Martin was equally incensed: “Damaging political posters is more than vandalism it is an attempt to censor free speech and the expression of ideas. There can be no place in politics in the 21st century for those who make their political argument through vandalism and petty acts such as this.”
The Labour councillor added: “There are those out there who feel threatened by young candidates such as Peter Flynn and I as candidates who want to change the system and upset the status quo. I am grateful for Cllr Flynn for his help and co-operation in highlighting this issue and I look forward to June 5 when a new breeze will blow through Mayo politics.”
