Fine Gael election candidate Bert Galbraith has urged voters in the Stranorlar Electoral Area not to throw out the baby with the bathwater in their effort to get a message to the government on Friday.
Bert Galbraith taking the opportunity to raise matters of concern in the Stranorlar Electoral Area with An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, when he visited Donegal last week.
The local candidate who is contesting his first election for Fine Gael, says he has heard the concerns and the voices of frustration on the doorsteps, and maintained he will work diligently to address those issues if people vote for him.
Galbraith told Donegal Daily, “An awful lot of the issues raised on the doorsteps are national issues – matters than the local council has no control of – but that’s not to say a local councillor cannot make representations to Dáil Deputies and Ministers and make them aware of the concerns of the people.
“Indeed that’s something I have already done, having met Ministers and An Taoiseach in recent weeks and raising issues including sewerage, broadband, roads, agricultural prices, health, local facilities and jobs with them.
Mr Galbraith said he is urging people to vote for him as a person who will work on local matters with energy, enthusiasm and commitment but who would also raise national issues when necessary and do it with tenacity and determination – but also with diplomacy.
Galbraith continued, “It is always easy to take the populist stance in an election, to play the blame game in an effort to get banner headlines and soundbytes.
“But at the end of the day if everyone is shouting and roaring at the government, who will be left to speak to them calmly and raise your issues and concerns in a way that they will listen?”
The local businessman and farmer says he understands the need for diplomacy and tact in politics, and he maintained his strong work ethic is what the people of the Stranorlar Electoral Area require to help the region.
Galbraith added, “Local elections shouldn’t be about finding someone a job for the sake of finding someone a job, it should be about finding people who will best serve their community.”
Mr Galbraith said that by voting for him on Friday, people can be certain of a hard-worker who will put the needs of his constituents first.
Galbraith concluded, “The people of this area know that if they want anybody at national level to listen, they need strong voices at local level to speak up for them and I can be that voice.
“But I would be much more than that – I would be strong voice at local level too making sure the Stranorlar Electoral Area gets its fair share of any and all council services.
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