I had an interesting close encounter with the local Castleknock Rep for FF, Howard Mahony on my home doorstep. Howard is quite tall and cuts an initial imposing figure with his big, looming statue and crew cut hair. My initial impression of him was that his demeanor is defensive and he is quite reactive with very limited listening skills.
Howard wanted my first preference vote for the local by-elections up coming in June. I am however, a Green Party man and have canvassed with local Castleknock ward rival to Mahony, Roderic O'Gorman. Roderic obviously will get my first preference vote largely down to the fact that i know him well, he is more physically out at the doors each evening talking to locals about real issues that effect them. Perhaps that is my own Green party loyalty making me bias.
I genuinely feel that the Green party will stay in local government for the next national elections, and Roderic may even get a seat in the Fingal county council with a vote in during next months by-elections. Even Howard admitted that he feels Roderic may have a good chance of getting a vote into the council for the by-elections.
What struck me about my conversation with Howard was his defensiveness all the time. We got onto the point of increased use of social media with established politicians in particular, the Fianna Fail party to interact with the youth demographic of voters who have felt disillusioned with politics and voting for a long time now, more enthusiastic again.
The fact is that a lot of older, rural politicians from FF are not aware or active in using online technology to promote their relationship or even in a more honest sense, build a relationship around their loyal audience of supporters and even potential audience of supporters currently. Howard's excuse was that there were local computer courses run up in Blanchardstown library but there was a slow reluctance of older locals to take up these courses and learn abut new technology. I thought that was a bad excuse. FF need to start educating themselves or getting a good advisory team around them to start understanding social media in general. They have started to get a bit more with it with the re- design of their new website, a project that involved working with the team that worked on the Obama campaign last year. Howard and I then moved onto topics such as local internet cafes for young people. Howard argued that the money was provided by him and FF party for the land given up by Laurel Lodge estate community center, near the Laurel lodge church, but the move to progress wasn't given by the local county council. Issues such as planning for local schools up at Luttrellstown and Ongar have now been given a go head with the induction last week of Luttrelstown community college, a recent welcome addition to the increasing over demand of school places allocated to schools and colleges around the Castleknock area. Howard went on to talk about the work he has done with the local Castleknock community.
I added that he maybe has done a lot of work that I don't know about but that I felt the FF party should be worried about the upcoming elections although the Greens have had a baptism of fire in their first term in government, such is their policy of Green and sustainability being a mainstream policy item internationally, this may be their saving grace that keeps them in power longer.
