MISTAKEN LISTING:A SITTING councillor on Cork City Council is hoping to meet Cork city manager Joe Gavin today after she discovered she is listed to run in the wrong ward in the local elections.
Independent councillor Annette Spillane from Ballyvolane learned yesterday she is listed to run in the North Central Ward, even though she has been a councillor for the North East Ward for five years.
Ms Spillane was elected for Sinn Féin in 2004, but left the party in 2006. She was adamant last night that she had registered to run in North East when lodging her papers on May 9th, well before nominations closed last Saturday.
“Why would I fill in the form and say that I’m running in the North Central ward when I’ve been a sitting councillor for the North East ward for the past five years?” she asked. Her area stretches from Montenotte up through Mayfield to Ballyvolane.
“I’ve been out canvassing in the North East ward and my posters are up in the North East ward for the past few weeks. It would be political suicide for me to run in the North Central ward – there are enough of candidates there already and they hardly need me to join them.”
Ms Spillane took the fifth and final seat in the North East ward in 2004.
However, returning officer Denis O’Mahony said last night the nomination paper signed by Ms Spillane was to run in the North Central ward and it had been accepted as a valid application.
He said Ms Spillane had a copy of the application form which she had signed as her own proposer and he was not aware of any mechanism whereby the nomination could be amended to allow her run in the North East ward given that nominations were now closed.
Although the redrawing of the ward boundaries has resulted in a portion of the Glen being transferred from the North East ward to the North Central ward, Ms Spillane would have little hope of taking a seat in a highly competitive, five-seat constituency where she would not be well known.
