Cllr John Hegarty has taken to social media to inform that “it is with regret” that he has announced that he won’t be seeking re-election for the Gorey District in Wexford County Council in next May’s Local Elections.
“Regarding my reasons for not seeking re-election, I know that I should cite family, work commitments and other interests and yes it is true that I have changed jobs and now have four wonderful kids that I didn’t have when I began the role as councillor, but in reality my family, work or other commitments have never held me back from performing the role, nor do I see this being an issue into the future.
“Instead, it has become apparent in recent months that my move from Gorey to Wexford is a perceived barrier to me running for re-election in Gorey. This is a huge disappointment to me. I moved for family and work reasons but in reality I have worked in Wexford town all my life and it has never been a barrier for me in serving my home town, my district or my home GAA club.
“It is not an easy decision to make but none the less I feel it is the correct one for me. I have served as a Public Representative for the Gorey District for 10 years now. I came into the job with no political experience, family background or ties. I put myself forward because I believed people who cared about their community or county had a duty to put themselves forward,” he said.
“I wanted to try to progress my area, our town, district and county and I hope that to some degree I have made a contribution.”
Cllr Hegarty served as Chairman of Wexford County Council and has chaired the district committee in Gorey on three occasions.
He also performed the role of Chairman the Council Economic Strategic Policy Group, the 2013 Gathering in County Wexford, The Healthy County Committee, The Gorey Market House Festival Committee and the Gorey 400 Commemoration Committee.
He set up the Wexford Ambassador Programme, Wexford Day, Gorey’s Civic Honours list, and the North Wexford 2k Clean, and one of the highlights of his career was opening Gorey Hatch Lab.
In conclusion, Cllr Hegarty expressed his sincere thanks to all those who have been so supportive in his time as a public representative.
“To those who voted for me, canvassed for me or offered advice along the way, I cannot express my gratitude enough. I don’t want to start listing people as they are far too numerous to mention, but I hope they know who they are.
“To those standing for Fine Gael and indeed other parties, I wish them all the best in the upcoming election and even more importantly in the work that comes after the election.
“For me it has been an honour to represent the people of Gorey.”
First to pay tribute to Cllr Hegarty was Cllr Malcolm Byrne. “Although we came from different political parties, he always left politics at the door and would work to try improve life in North Wexford.
He made a positive contribution (often behind the scenes) and was a good colleague who always had Gorey’s best interests at heart.”