Who's been 'round at yours?

starbelgrade

With the local & european elections just over a week away, who's been knocking on your doorstep & what kind of reception did you give them?

When we moved in around 10 months ago, Alywn Love (Labour), was already on the campaign & knocked on the door to introduce himself. He gave a brief introduction as to who he was, why he was running, why he was running with Labour & what he wanted to achieve if he got elected. We had a bitch about the council & in general, he seemed a genuine guy with real political beliefs. He also wore a rather shabby tweed blazer & an old shirt, which I thought was a nice touch!

Since then he's been around again & I told him he'd be getting my No.1 vote. The only other candidate that's called, was the Fine Gael local candidate who's been around twice - sound enough bloke, but I've never voted for either of the "Big Two" parties & I'm not going to either.

The thing that really struck me is the lack of presence from all the other candidates. We've had literature from Fianna Fail but they're obviously doing the opposite to what Labour & Fine Gael have been doing - ie., doing the rounds in the evenings & at weekends when most people are home from work. Now, I wonder why that is?!

bobcar61

I have had nobody come to the door thankfully. I hate it when they do. Sinn Fein were in Quayside today taking pictures, some fella tried to give me a leaflet but i won't be in the country on voting day.

tuppence

I know am in the Leitrim area but its kinda a snapshot.
I have had the Greens, Sinn fein and the local fine gael sitting councillor. There also been a couple of cars with the tannoy systems on them, (I love them, bit of flashback to bygone era) one for Sinn fein and one for Declan Ganley. Otherwise have just been leafleted. (Think the Fianna Fail repres must be frightened to come round)

KayTee

starbelgrade wrote: »

....

The thing that really struck me is the lack of presence from all the other candidates. We've had literature from Fianna Fail but they're obviously doing the opposite to what Labour & Fine Gael have been doing - ie., doing the rounds in the evenings & at weekends when most people are home from work. Now, I wonder why that is?!

we must be in the same neck of the woods love and mulvey are my local hopefuls too...we were just saying today we have seen nobody but the locals - Michael Clarke did call but we weren't there, not sure if it was a leaflet drop or a proper canvass. For the Europeans we have had mailshots, apart from 1 guy last Sat morning when I was still in my pyjamas canvassing for Joe O'Reilly. i'm beginning to feel like we're not worth the effort - or is it just that they think the local candidates have it wrapped up??? I've heard it is a predominantly FG village??

TequilaMockingBird

I had Mary McLoughlin from Labour, and Martin Ford.

I was having a good ol' bitch with Mary and Co for about 10 minutes, we were really getting somehere, then I realised Mary had got bored and was at the house two doors down... I shall assume Mary and I do not share common concerns. (I was discussing the improbability of a cancer patient being able to sit on a bus for a few hours without the prospect of vomiting or diarrhea becoming a problem.)

Martin Ford asked me to pray for him.

Sinn Fein called but I was too lazy to get up off the sofa to chat, which is a shame, you can have a right good chin-wag with a Sinn Feiner, in my experience.

I have had the weight of a small baby's worth of junk mail* from FF, but still no actual human ones... (*V. handy to light fire with.)

All in all, it's a disappointing show.

Xiney

Out here in Galway we've had no-one

But it's not surprising. It's taken 9 months to train Four Star Pizza to figure out where we live - I doubt a politician would bother. Just when you think you've taught the driver, he quits and they get another one. :mad:

chickenhawk

I keep getting phonecalls from Libertas and they still don't answer my question on their funding. Had a few councillers call but they always ask is my dad home (i'm 23) and lose my vote instantly.

TequilaMockingBird

I was asked to ask my husband to vote for a particular candidate. It made my daughter lol.

Laughing about it, but that's probably the type of eejit that will get elected...

Xiney

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

I was asked to ask my husband to vote for a particular candidate. It made my daughter lol.

Laughing about it, but that's probably the type of eejit that will get elected...

Laughing = wrong
I'll ask my foot to kick you in the nuts you chauvinist swine! = right

starbelgrade

KayTee wrote: »

we must be in the same neck of the woods love and mulvey are my local hopefuls too...we were just saying today we have seen nobody but the locals - Michael Clarke did call but we weren't there, not sure if it was a leaflet drop or a proper canvass. For the Europeans we have had mailshots, apart from 1 guy last Sat morning when I was still in my pyjamas canvassing for Joe O'Reilly. i'm beginning to feel like we're not worth the effort - or is it just that they think the local candidates have it wrapped up??? I've heard it is a predominantly FG village??

The Dromore election area covers Coolaney, Colooney & Ballisodare, as far as I know... all these villages may have been swayed towards one party or another in the past, but with the influx of "outsiders" like me, I doubt that still holds sway.

Bit dissapointed to see the Primetime report tonoght from Cork showing people on the streets saying that they are so p*ssed off this tear that they won't be voting. Even a spoiled vote is a way of making your voice heard. Not voting at all is a terrible waste.

magnumlady

We've had a couple of them around.
I'm not going to mention names but what put me off one of them was that he turned up at my dads funeral and was basically canvessing....not the right time or place.

genie

I had Gerard Mullaney (FG) around early last month going on about getting broadband and the roads fixed etc. I'll never have fixed line broadband where I live, I can't get a signal from Vodafone, O2 won't upgrade the mast which I can see from my house and Fastcom told me they won't put a mast up out here (Geevagh/Highwood area) so I'm not holding my breath. The roads tracks around here are atrocious so I'm saving up for a helicopter.

Then I put a NO CANVASSERS sign on the door so then FG rang me up to remind me about the European Election (as if I needed reminding) even though I have a privacy thing on the phone. :rolleyes: I work in Boyle and one day there was a car with megaphones on the roof playing the theme tune from Riverdance to 'entice' people to vote for some guy for the European elections, I think it was. It went round and round and round and round and round the town all day...:rolleyes:

My brother, who is a glutton for punnishment and didn't put a NO CANVASSERS sign on the door (only the NO CANCER SERVICES - NO VOTES poster), had Mullaney and then Martin Baker who only went to the empty part of the house (which my brother is renovating) and stuck a 'sorry I missed you' card to the door. Didn't go around the back, of course. The fact that my brother practically ran him off the place the last time he was around might have had something to do with that! None of the independents have been to him and we don't even know what they are standing for.:rolleyes:

I honestly don't know who to vote for, they're all just a pack of bleeps. Still, all the extra paper for lighting the fire has been great!

Xiney

magnumlady wrote: »

We've had a couple of them around.
I'm not going to mention names but what put me off one of them was that he turned up at my dads funeral and was basically canvessing....not the right time or place.

For shame!

My God that's awful Val

Essexboy

I had FG around twice on the same evening.

First Hubert Keaney arrived with a "minder", then 4 hours later Joe Leonard turned up canvassing.

Star canvasser was Francis Cormac Feeney who asked for my wife by her maiden name, then asked me who I was (only been here for nine years!).
My little dog came out to attack him, looked at him once, put her head on my shoulder and went to sleep. If only I could have done the same!

Slidey

Jesus even seeing that <snip> Martin Fords name gets me annoyed.

Had a few call to the house, one called when i was upstairs knocking a chimney with a kango. Cheeky fecker opened the door and left his leaflet on the stairs :eek:

starbelgrade

Slidey wrote: »

Jesus even seeing that <snip> Martin Fords name gets me annoyed.

Had a few call to the house, one called when i was upstairs knocking a chimney with a kango. Cheeky fecker opened the door and left his leaflet on the stairs :eek:

I'd have called the cops. Seriously.

Jabby

My God Slidey...leaving his leaflet on the stairs!!! What a terrible thing to happen to you. Call them cops quick I say.

Martin Ford isn't the worst of them by the way. He's been watching things closer than most of us locally for many a year now. You will find that he can have some interesting things to say.

Scares the bejaysus out of a lot of them with his honesty.

They always seem to call around tea time so i answer the door with a cup of tea in hand and they get the message and dont stay too long.Had some God botherers around yesterday teatime as well agh!!!

bonzos

I had to deal with the Love guy a few times and i recon he is sound enought fellow with good intentions.dont know much about the rest of them but i hear mary barrett is also ok, heard a story that clarke spent some time in jail over a "misunderstanding" with some cheques.......with that kind of history he would mak a good FF man

bonzos

bonzos wrote: »

I had to deal with the Love guy a few times and i recon he is sound enought fellow with good intentions.dont know much about the rest of them but i hear mary barrett is also ok, heard a story that clarke spent some time in jail over a "misunderstanding" with some cheques.......with that kind of history he would mak a good FF man

Heard a car around my area campaigning for that Love guy yesterday, blasting out the Beatles All You Need Is Love,would love to know if he got clearance from EMI or Apple to use it!

Xiney

Ahahaha! Michael Clarke, legend! (Mr Xiney being from Dromore Wesht, I know allllll about him)

Essexboy

bonzos wrote: »

I had to deal with the Love guy a few times and i recon he is sound enought fellow with good intentions.dont know much about the rest of them but i hear mary barrett is also ok, heard a story that clarke spent some time in jail over a "misunderstanding" with some cheques.......with that kind of history he would mak a good FF man

Clarke was a FFer and then . . .
http://archives.tcm.ie/sligoweekender/2002/01/30/story6378.asp

cronndiesel

if thats true then out goes the telly for truth is stranger then fiction!!
hold on theres a knockin at the door

its an election candidate saying he found this (telly) out side amoungst glass and would i vote for them:pac: -na but you can bring the tv set wit you boi

seriously if they canvass you their annoyin you and if they dont its that your not important enough and anyway after the election is over the salutes and howyas dry up- its hard to know they all seem to be different shades of the one colour now.

at least with thomas mac giolla you knew the colour of his politics:p:p:p

we re entering a new era i think

YeatsCounty

Essexboy wrote: »

Clarke was a FFer and then . . .
http://archives.tcm.ie/sligoweekender/2002/01/30/story6378.asp

Yep, he was a FF candidate in Dromore in 1991 and 1999.

http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=5468

magnumlady

zorro2566 wrote: »

Heard a car around my area campaigning for that Love guy yesterday, blasting out the Beatles All You Need Is Love,would love to know if he got clearance from EMI or Apple to use it!

Not fair going past the schools when they are in exams blasting it out.

lady.in.red

im glad you brought this up.
im from carlow and have receive plenty of leaflets through the letterbox but only two knockers! two labour men, des hurley & Noel Barcoe, which i will be voting for because of the simple fact they had the decency to knock and want to speak to me in person instead of droppin a leaflet and running while still expecting a vote- no chance.. But besides that the men were sound and knew wat they were talking about.
Get out and vote everyone- VOTE LABOUR

starbelgrade

lady.in.red wrote: »

im glad you brought this up.
im from carlow and have receive plenty of leaflets through the letterbox but only two knockers! two labour men, des hurley & Noel Barcoe, which i will be voting for because of the simple fact they had the decency to knock and want to speak to me in person instead of droppin a leaflet and running while still expecting a vote- no chance.. But besides that the men were sound and knew wat they were talking about.
Get out and vote everyone- VOTE LABOUR

I wouldn't vote on that basis - I agree that the personal touch is nice, but your vote should always be based on an informed decision. At least it was Labour and not Fianna Fail who were the only ones to call around!

Jabby

Is it my imagination but there seems to be a lot more limos on the road today than your average day....Now I wonder why that may be. Has anyone else noticed this ?

lady.in.red

i did cast my vote on an informed decision, the lads knew their stuff and compaired to the others they were the ones i wanted as my local representatives. and i was 50% successful. One in & one missed out by literally a couple of votes...
No didnt see any limos around Carlow

bonzos

mr clarke topped the poll...does not say much for local politics in sligo when a man with a history like his can do so well.wonder would it have anything to do with the bus load polish who were shipped down from ballina for the day to vote..and there are plenty more as bad as him:eek: