LABOUR councillor and current Mayor of Tralee, Graham Spring, has announced he is stepping down from politics and will not run in the local elections in May.
Speaking on Radio Kerry this morning, he said cited family reasons and concentrating on developing a career away from politics while he is still young as reasons for his decision.
Cllr Spring, who was elected as a councillor for the Tralee Municipal District in 2014, was selected at the Labour Party convention to run again in the local elections on May 24, along with Cllr Terry O’Brien and new candidate Ben Slimm. It remains to be seen if another candidate will now be added to the ticket with two months to go to the elections
.Mayor Graham Spring next to a photo of his late grandfather Dan Spring, a former Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE new Mayor of Tralee Municipal was elected this morning at Kerry County Council chambers.
Labour’s Cllr Graham Spring was the only candidate put forward at the meeting and takes over from Cllr Norma Foley, who received plaudits from her fellow councillors and management for her great service to the town over the past year.
Mayor Spring was elected to the Tralee Municipal District four years ago for the first time and continues a family tradition of holding office.
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The grandson of former Labour TD Dan Spring, nephew of Dick and Maeve Spring and brother of former TD Arthur, Graham told TraleeToday.ie he was honoured to take up the role of mayor.
“It is an honour to be selected as Mayor. As Cllr Terry O’Brien said when he proposed me earlier, it was my aunt Maeve who proposed him for the position around 15 years ago, so that was a nice connection.”
He outlined a few things he would like to see happen in the coming year, including establishing a link between the Kerry Technology Park and the Island of Geese site.
Mayor Graham Spring with his mother Patsy, wife Carmel and children Sinead, Ciara and Daniel. Photo by Dermot Crean
“With a centre so successful as Kerry Tech Park and a great space like the Island of Geese, it would be great to establish a hub there for small companies who want to stay in the town centre, under the umbrella of the Kerry Technology Park, and that would bring more people into town,” he said.
He also hoped to see the Tralee-Fenit Greenway come to fruition soon.
“Greenways are so important for tourism and this has now gone forward to part VIII planning. It will be a great facility for families and as a tourist attraction which could lead to spin-off industries,” he said.
Also, Mayor Spring wants action when it comes to social housing.
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“We have a long housing list, as many counties do, but we need to use the landbank we have correctly and get projects funded and ready to go. This will ease the housing list and create construction jobs. Social housing projects haven’t been to the forefront in Government in a while now, so we need to start building,” he added.
Graham is married to Carmel and their children, Ciara, Daniel and Sinead, and Graham’s mother Patsy were there to see him accept the mayoral chain.
Mayor Graham Spring at Kerry County Council buildings. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE current Mayor of Tralee, Norma Foley, will hand over her Mayoral chain to Labour’s Graham Spring later this month.
However, the weight off her neck and shoulders won’t last long, as it is expected it will be replaced later that day by the Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council chain of office.
The Kerry County Council and Municipal District AGMs take place on Monday, June 25 and the Mayors for the coming 12 months will be elected.
Because of agreements between political parties made following the 2014 local elections, the destinations of the chains are pretty much decided already.
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Cllr Graham Spring will become Tralee’s ‘First Citizen’, taking the office for the first time.
Cllr Graham Spring.
It’s expected the next Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council will be Fianna Fáil’s Norma Foley after the vote at County Buildings.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael’s Mike Kennelly is expected to be the next Cathaoirleach of the Listowel Municipal District, while current Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, John Sheahan, will become the Killarney Mayor.
Fianna Fáil’s Norma Moriarty is predicted to become Cathaoirleach in the South and West Kerry Municipal District.
.Michael Healy Rae gives Martin Ferris his preference during the Office Chair Racing event in Tralee on Saturday. Photo by Dermot Crean
IT looks like Michael Healy Rae and Martin Ferris formed some sort of pact at the Office Chair Racing event on The Mall this afternoon.
The lighthearted fun, organised by Tralee Chamber Alliance in aid of St Vincent de Paul, was lit up by a ‘coalition’ between the two Kerry TDs.
In one of the races, Michael got off his chair and pushed the Sinn Féin Deputy at great speed to the finish line.
It was a fun moment in an event which is proving very popular in its second year. In an earlier race, the two were joined by Fianna Fáil councillor and general election candidate, John Brassil and Labour councillor Graham Spring as you can see in the video below.
I’m afraid Cllr Brassil didn’t read the rules properly as he turned his chair around and got an unfair advantage over his opponents, but was duly disqualified. He’ll need that ruthless streak in a few months time!
The final was won by Paul Keane from Denis Moriarty Civil Engineering and we’ll have a video and photos tomorrow.
Scroll down for video with commentary from Mark Leen…
Martin Ferris, Michael Healy Rae, John Brassil and Graham Spring at the start of their heat in the Office Chair Racing in Tralee on Saturday. Photo by Dermot CreanAn exhausted Michael Healy Rae congratulates Paul Keane on his semi-final win. Photo by Dermot Crean
