Councillors cry stroke as they vote down election poster ban

By TONY GALVIN IT was a case of do as we say, not as we do, when members of Galway Co Council voted down a proposal to ban their own election posters in the county for good. The selfless proposal to ban election posters as part of the council's drive against litter was put forward by Cllr Michael â€ËœStroke' Fahy who told a meeting in County Hall on Monday that no politician had ever got a vote 'up a pole'. He said he had made a unilateral decision to dispense with the litter-prone practice of postering and focus instead on the doorstep which was where, he assured the members, the real votes were to be got. [private] Cllr Fahy is somewhat of an authority on vote collecting as he has continuously been a one-man vote hoover and poll-topper throughout his long and distinguished political career, one which however, has not been without controversy. But his efforts to take the poster out of Galway politics fell on deaf ears. Despite a review of the authority's Litter Management Plan 2011-2014 being on the agenda, when it came to a vote on Cllr Fahy's poster ban proposal, it was roundly defeated by a vote of 21 to 3. Tuam Area Cllr Sean Canney seconded the ban. No sooner had Stroke made his proposal than he was assailed from all sides of the house. The level of cynicism displayed by our public representatives was as distressing as it was unedifying. Cllr Jimmy McClearn led the pack, accusing Cllr Fahy of, believe it or not, pulling a stroke. He said his poster ban proposal was simply a ploy to keep up-and-coming young politicians out of the public eye. It was only being proposed because Stroke is now a famous face and has no need of such publicity. He even went further, accusing Cllr Fahy of being more concerned about his own media image and garnering yet another headline from gullible hacks who repeatedly fall for his publicity stunts. Cllr Tim Broderick asked the members to think of the jobs that could be lost in the local printing industry if political posters were banned. Cllr Fahy protested vehemently that he didn't give a damn how many young pretenders came looking for his throne, he had nothing to fear from them. The people would vote for the man they knew on the ground and not someone they only recognised from a face on a pole or tree. He was standing by his principles and he at least would not be the cause of litter come the next council elections. So politics is to remain a beauty contest in Co Galway at least for the foreseeable future. But one man will have no need of such crude electioneering. Michael â€ËœStroke' Fahy knows that when you've won the hearts and minds of the people there's no need to gild the lily by festooning the countryside with his handsome visage. Whatever about the poster, the Stroke stands head and shoulders above his cynical colleagues when it comes to self effacement and sacrifice for the common good. Michael â€ËœStroke' Fahy â€â€ not just a pretty face. [/private]