O'Connor gets to cast deciding vote
Wednesday June 24 2009
CAST in the role of king-maker at the first sitting of the new council was Independent councillor, Cllr David O'Connor who sided with Labour and the Socialist Party to elect the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Fingal.
Speaking to the Fingal Independent after the meeting that elected the new leadership of the council, Cllr O'Connor said the vote was 'probably' an indication of a de facto coalition between Labour, the Socialist Party and himself, over the next five years. Asked why he decided to throw his lot in with Labour and the Socialist Party, Cllr O'Connor said: 'When you see how people voted in Fingal and particularly in the ward that I represent, where there is two independents, two Labour and one Fine Gael, people clearly want something of a change.
'I spoke to everyone in the chamber, as we all do, to find out what the options were and it became clear that it was going to be Labour and whoever they wanted to bring in. They brought the Socialists into the loop, which is great.'
Cllr O'Connor said he had 'no doubt whatever' that the alliance would hold and he looked forward to a council where party politics would not get in the way of progress.
