Wexford County Councillors should work together for benefit of the Wexford people – Codd

A newly elected Wexford County Councillor has called on his colleagues to avoid power pacts, partisan politics and grand standing on national and international issues, in favour of working together to benefit Wexford. Cllr Jim Codd said he would take no part in council pacts but would work with any member of the council on proposals that would benefit the Wexford people.

 “In the last six months of the old County Council, only 6% of motions concerned the plight of rural Wexford,” Cllr Codd said. “The same amount of time was given to discussing the location of the Eurovision Song Contest. I have as much concerns about international issues as anyone but I was elected as a local Councillor and that is what I intend to be. If you were working in a job and ignoring the parameters to do what you felt motivated by, you wouldn’t be in employment for long.”

 “I oppose the partisan nature of local council politics and the idea of pacts for power in particular. I understand why many reps, particularly independents, might feel insecure enough to join a party in the chamber, but these pacts do not benefit the county and do stop an even distribution of Council grants across the county.”

 “I intend to work with any councillor who puts forward proposals that benefit the Wexford people. I will be pushing motions that I believe will benefit rural Wexford and the people of my LEA. That’s what I was elected to do. For too long, the villages of South Wexford have been ignored by our local government.” 

“Some will accuse me of being a parish pump politician. I have been called worse. If some of these critics had acted positively while elected instead of grandstanding on international issues far beyond their remit, then maybe they would still be sitting in the Council chamber instead of shouting from the sidelines.”