Golden and Cantwell rule out running

The cathaoirleach of Trim Town Council, Cllr Trevor Golden, has announced that he will not contest the general election in Meath West. It has been expected the independent local councillor would declare as a candidate but, last week, he ruled himself out of the running. Speaking about the reasons for his decision, he said: “I am currently in the second year of a five-year term on Trim Town Council and there are many projects which I have been working on that I want to see brought to a conclusion. Projects such as the enterprise centre, the new town centre, Trim Town Hall, along with many local community group projects. Given these responsibilities, along with my personal circumstances at present, I will not be putting my name forward. I have not ruled out running in the future but, for now, I still have work to do on Trim Town Council.“ Cllr Golden thanked those who had supported him. “I would like to thank everyone for all their support and encouragement, it is greatly appreciated. As an independent, I rely on the genuine active political citizenship of others. I am grateful and encouraged by the experience. I am very hopeful for the future,†he added. Cllr Golden went on: “The political system is broken in Ireland; we will have a change of government in Ireland not by debate, policies or reform, but by default. The country is in a state of political flux, the country needs to see what the opposition are capable of for the true state of the system to be revealed. It is only after this can true reform begin.†Meanwhile, another Trim independent councillor, Phil Cantwell, who had also indicated last year that he would be standing as a candidate in Meath West, has had to pull out of the race as a result of health reasons. “As a long-time advocate for justice for disabled Tara Mines workers and an active supporter of the Navan Hospital campaign, coupled with a radical reform of national government as my priority, I had agreed to go forward as an independent in this forthcoming 2011 general election,†he said last week. He said he had been asked by a number of Tara's disabled workers to stand in the election to highlight their pension row with the company, along with his own national issues. He said he also received phone calls from the public asking him to stand. He had prepared leafets and had ordered posters and was looking forward to putting his name before the voters in Meath West. However, in the past few weeks, he said his health has deteriorated and he was very disappointed to have to inform his supporters that, having consulted his GP and his family, he had reluctantly made the decision to withdraw from the general election. Cllr Cantwell confirmed that he also had been asked to stand for one particular party, but had to refuse the invitation for the same health reasons. He was recently hospitalised and is facing further hospitalisation. “My aspirations for this 2011 election have had to be shelved and I am very disappointed as feel I am letting people down,†he added.