When the ballot papers are marked from first preference to last in next June’s local elections, there will be one familiar name and face missing from in the Castlebar area. After 34 years of service on Castlebar Town Council (previously the Urban District Council ) and 17 years on Mayo County Council, Labour and Castlebar’s Johnny Mee has decided to step away from the council chambers and leave the political scene to a younger generation.
There have been a lot of changes in Mayo’s political landscape in the 34 years since Johnny Mee was first elected to office and earlier this week he spoke to the Mayo Advertiser about his life in local politics in the county and some of the things he’s proud to have been involved in and some of the issues where he sees that local authorities have been let down by central government.
Getting the work done on the ground
“I was elected to the Town Council for the first time in 1974, it was the Urban District Council back then. Mind you, when it changed to Town Council it didn’t give us any more powers or authorities. Town Councils generally don’t have sufficient powers and they certainly don’t have sufficient money and money at the end of the day determines a lot of things. I remember at the time when they did away with the rates, I’m not suggesting that they should be brought back, but the moneys that they got in through the rating system, what we get from central government now is no where near it.
“The biggest problem is the lack of a proper funding system, over the years there have been several attempts at reforming the system and all parties of all political stripes have said when we get into power we’ll change the funding system, but it has never happened. There are lots of major schemes in Castlebar that I would like to see done, but the reason that they haven’t is purely down to a lack of money. You could do so many things if you had the money.”
Being a local politician on the ground means that you’re on call 24/7 to the people you represent, but you have to enjoy the challenge of getting things done for people and that’s something that Johnny has taken immense pride in over the last three decades. “For example last Friday I took 20 or 25 phone calls, you get them at all hours of the morning and evening. Having said that you have to be a glutton for punishment and there is no point going into local government if you’re not willing to take that kind of punishment. But I enjoy it, I love meeting people. When you do things for people, even the smallest thing, you get a great satisfaction from it. It’s hard work, I enjoyed my years on it and whatever couple of months I have left on it.”
Three times the charm
Despite coming close on a couple of occasions of being the county’s first citizen only to loose out due to political decisions, Johnny holds no grudges against his current and former council colleagues and has had some great days involved in both county and town councils. “I was elected three times since 1991, it was a great sense of pride for me, because I was the first Labour Party councillor to get elected to the county. I was the Leas Cathaoirleach on one occasion and on one occasion it was my turn to get the chairmanship, but a particular councillor changed his mind and voted with another party, but I don’t hold a grudge. I was offered it on another occasion by Fianna Fáil if I voted for them, but I couldn’t do it because I had done a deal with Fine Gael and I couldn’t do that and my word is my bond. At the time I was disappointed naturally, but I don’t hold grudges, people make up their mind for various reasons, but time mellows you and is a great healer. I’ve been Mayor of Castlebar on six occasions which is a great personal achievement. Being elected to Mayo County Council for a third term is a great achievement too, it was a cliff-hanger and like Lazarus I came back from the dead and I had gone home to bed and I got a phone call at 3am to come back up because I was going to get elected. It just shows the value of the proportional representation system, because it was the number twos and threes that got me elected.”
Health is what matters
Johnny counts the situating of the National Museum of Country Life in Turlough House, the two phases of expansion of Mayo General Hospital as two of the highlights of his time in public life, but counts his health as his biggest blessing. “I thank God for the health because nothing else matters in the world, it’s three years now since I had a ten-hour operation for a triple bypass, and I can go out walking every morning now and it’s wonderful. People often say it’s an awful aul day, but I say isn’t any day you wake up a great day?”
While the current economic situation has the country down in the doldrums, Johnny’s parting shots were of hope and opotimisim for the future and the future of the people of Mayo. “Hopefully we’ll see the country bounce back from the current economic setbacks, I remember walking around the town when they were laying the gas pipes and I said to one of the lads, it’s great to see men working, and they looked at me. But I remember the bad times when there was no work, people who are working are happy people and they don’t get into trouble. I can remember growing up and seeing sisters and brothers moving away and all I can remember is the terrible silence in the house that day when they left. I hope we never go back to that, but I’m an incurable optimist by nature and we’re a very resilient people in Mayo and I think we’ll overcome this .”
