Moran and Hogan set to contest vacant Westmeath council seat

Ex-Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran and former councillor Paul Hogan look set to go head-to-head in a contest for the vacant seat on Westmeath County Council.

Nominations had to be in by Monday evening of this week to fill the vacancy created by the shock resignation of Independent councillor Jamie Moran.

Five people publicly declared an interest in the seat but the Westmeath Independent understands that only Boxer Moran and Paul Hogan received the required backing of six council members to come before the meeting of the council next Monday (January 24) for a vote.

Typically, in a co-option situation where a member has resigned, a successor is nominated by the outgoing councillor and elected unopposed.

However, it was clear from the outset that the nomination of Boxer Moran by his son Jamie would be contested, and local council members are now in uncharted waters in terms of what happens next.

Outcome unclear

Several councillors were this week keeping their cards close to their chest in relation to the matter, and the possibility that some might abstain from a vote on the vacancy added to the difficulty of forecasting the outcome.

One council source predicted privately that Paul Hogan would have enough support to win a contest, but others were tight-lipped when asked who they would be supporting or what they thought might happen.

After Jamie Moran resigned from the council on January 6, he nominated his father for the vacancy. A few days later Mr Hogan, who had been a councillor in Athlone for fifteen years, threw his hat into the ring.

Then, over the subsequent week, Athlone Community Radio manager Irena Djak Cvetkovic, Athlone Community College teacher Sarah Seoige, and John Tynan, the secretary of the disability advocacy group Athlone Access Awareness, all expressed an interest in the position.

The two Green Party councillors, Athlone's Louise Heavin and Mullingar's Hazel Smyth, supported Ms Cvetkovic's candidacy, and Cllr Heavin said on Monday that they had not yet decided what position they would take on a contest between Mr Moran and Mr Hogan.

"We had been hoping that Irena would get the support, and at this moment in time we don't know where we stand with the other two," said Cllr Heavin.

"We need to talk about that a bit more ourselves, and also with our local group. Being a grassroots party, we consult with local members as well on this."

Who will Fianna Fáil support?

With nine of the 19 available votes, the Fianna Fáil group on the council will have a huge say in the outcome of the contest, but there was uncertainty about whether they would vote collectively or whether some would opt to abstain.

It's thought that at least three Fianna Fáil councillors, all from outside Athlone, supported Paul Hogan's nomination to come before Monday's council meeting for the formal vote.

The party's two Athlone councillors, Aengus O'Rourke and Frankie Keena, gave somewhat contrasting responses when they were asked on Monday whether the Fianna Fáil members would be taking a unified position in relation to the filling of the vacancy.

Cllr O'Rourke said the Fianna Fáil members had agreed that they "will all be voting together." When Cllr Keena was asked if they would all be voting together, he said that decision was "not fully tied down" as yet.

"We'll have to think about that over the week... It's leaning in one direction, but it's not fully decided yet," said Cllr Keena, who had sought to nominate Sarah Seoige to fill the vacancy.

Cllr Keena said a perception had been created that he was trying to prevent Boxer Moran from returning to politics, but that this was not true.

He said the former Minister of State had not contacted him to seek his vote.

"It is said that I am afraid of Boxer making a comeback into politics. This is far from the truth.

"I think it's fantastic that both Boxer and former councillor Paul Hogan are still showing interest in getting back into politics. I wholeheartedly wish them well on their endeavours," he stated.

Ballymore Fianna Fáil councillor Vinny McCormack said he had not nominated anyone for the vacancy.

"We'll be meeting as a party and I'd be hoping we would collectively support one candidate. That's what I would like to see, and that's what most of the party membership want," said Cllr McCormack.

Cllr John Dolan said he had nominated Boxer Moran for the seat, along with two other fellow Fine Gael councillors, Tom Farrell and Frank McDermott, Labour councillors Denis Leonard and Johnny Penrose, and Independent Mick Dollard.

The intentions of Fine Gael councillor Andrew Duncan are not clear. Calls to Cllr Duncan were not returned before going to press this week.

Another Fine Gael councillor from Mullingar, Emily Wallace, told the Westmeath Independent she wanted to wish all of the candidates well, but declined to comment on who she would be supporting.

Attempts to contact Paul Hogan and 'Boxer' Moran earlier this week were unsuccessful.

What happens next?

Barring any other further twists to the tale, the matter is due to come up for an open vote at the monthly meeting of Westmeath County Council, which is being held online on Monday afternoon.

The legislation governing the process is Section 19 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, which requires "evidence (by letter or email) from each of the council members supporting the nomination (at least six members)" before someone can go forward.

In addition, a signed letter with the name and address of the person being nominated, a letter of consent from the nominee, and confirmation that the nominee is eligible for consideration for local authority membership, is needed.

Of the nineteen councillors currently on the county council, there are nine Fianna Fáil members, five from Fine Gael, two each from Labour and the Green Party, and one Independent.