“Everyone tells me I’m going to enjoy it, but it’s a daunting task. Well I’m in for it now and I’m looking forward to getting out there.” Michael McLaughlin is no different than any first time candidate hitting out on the campaign trail, nervous about going knocking on people’s doors, people he knows personally and professionally for years, and putting himself in front of them asking them to give him their number one this June. The 31-year-old married father of two is best known as a photographer around the county, based in Westport, the town of his birth and his home since he came back after college to set up his own business, and it’s because of these traits that he believes he is the perfect man to represent the people of his home town. Not that it was at all planned at first, “I was talking to Peter Flynn one day and asked him how was he getting on with the campaign himself, he then suggested that I should run for the town council myself, which was a bit of a shock. I told him to let me think about it and the more time I took to think about it the more it seemed like the right thing to do, so I let my name go forward to the nominating convention and was nominated for the Town Council so here I am now.”
While deciding to run was something that only happened recently, McLaughlin can trace his political roots back to college. “I was on the students union in Letterkenny when I was in college there back in the late 1990s. We had a lot of meetings with TDs and even ministers at the time, because just like now the third level fees was a huge issue.”
Giving struggling business a hand
Being a self employed business man, generating and nurturing new business and those with ideas is something that McLaughlin will be pushing if he is returned to the chamber. “I really believe that we have to look at bringing in some kind of incremental rates system in the town. Because there are plenty of viable business that are start ups that are getting killed by rates that are levied on them. You have to look at some small business forking out over €1,500 a year before they even turn a key or turn on the lights, just in rates.”
Keeping on the commercial side of things, McLaughlin thinks that it is time the landlords in Westport came together with the retailers to ensure some kind of rent review is put in place. “I think that the landlords have to come together with the businesses that are renting properties from them at the minute and see what can be done in relation to rents, because we all know times are tough for business, and the rents along with rates are very high and can put many good viable businesses under pressure and see them forced to close. We should be doing all we can to encourage businesses in the town.”
Putting the best Westport possible forward
With Westport being a major tourist town, McLaughlin wants to see as much done as possible to keep promoting the town and put it even higher on the map. “We have the oldest arts festival in the region here in Westport, it’s even older than the one in Galway and it’s one of the highlights of the year. I think that we should look at forming some kind of umbrella group to take in the promotion of the arts festival, the music festival, and the Gaelforce event so that all three can be promoted together to ensure that they get maximum publicity. Putting on these kinds of events can cost a lot of money and if they were able to share some of the burden of promotion between them and be run over the space of a few weeks together, we could really see even bigger numbers flock to Westport every summer.”
The need for an increase in the numbers of pedestrian crossings in the town is another issue that needs to be looked at seriously according to McLaughlin. “We really have to have a hard look at installing fully functioning pedestrian crossings at all lights and junctions in the heart of the town. Because at the minute people crossing the road on foot are relying on motorists to allow them to cross. But you can have the situation where a car in the right hand lane will stop for you but the left not stop for you, the last thing we need to see is someone getting hurt because of this. It will also make the town safer for all those who come to visit it.”
While he is new to the politics game, McLaughlin is passionate about his town and wanting to see it grow for the better for everyone, something he is keen to point out. “I’m from the town, I grew up here and my children will grow up here, I want to see the town grow and prosper into the future even in these tough times.”
