Local Mullingar business man Rashid Butt has said he will take a 50 per cent pay cut if elected to the town council next month.
Mr Butt says his main priorities are to: maintain local jobs by supporting local businesses; resist the imposition of water charges; help communities to develop themselves; clean up derelict areas; and combat anti-social behaviour.
“For the past nine months, I have been watching the knee-jerk reaction to the recession with growing horror and disbelief. Small businesses are collapsing and benefits are being snatched away from families, the elderly, and the most vulnerable in our society,” said Mr Butt.
“As a parent and a citizen of Mullingar, I worry about how this is going to hurt our families and local communities.
“As an experienced small business owner and long-time community activist, I have decided to run for election to Westmeath County Council and Mullingar Town Council and I look forward to representing my constituents. My loyalties would be with the electorate not party.
My primary qualification to run for office is that I’m not a politician, I’m an ordinary family man who knows how difficult it is to pay bills these days,” he added.
Mr Butt brings with him a multi-dimensional, and a multi-cultural experience gained over the years in the UK, Pakistan ,and more recently Ireland. He is married, and father of four.
