Next of our local council candidate profiles for the Ballymoney DEA, is Sinn Fein’s Mr Cathal McLaughlin.
Mr Cathal McLaughlin is standing for Sinn Fein in the Ballymoney DEA to retain his council seat.
From Cloughmill, Cathal attended St Bridget’s Primary School in the village before going onto St Patrick’s collage in Ballymena.
Cathal decided to take up engineering as his trade and currently works for a local engineering company as a production manager.
As an active Sinn Fein member, Cathal had previously represented the electorate in the old Ballymoney Borough Council legacy council before being co-opted after the transition to Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council (CCGBC), where he served not just as a councillor but became the first Sinn Fein Deputy Mayor.
Cathal’s running partner in this election will once again be fellow Sinn Fein member Leanne Peacock, who in the 2014 council elections narrowly missed winning a seat by 9 votes.
STATS
In 2014, Cathal din’t contend for a seat in the new CCGBC, instead Sinn Fein’s Philip McGuigan stood and received 942 1st preference votes. Philip reached the quota at stage 8 with a total of 1083 votes.
In September of the same year Philip McGuigan was co-opted to the Assembly and in turn Cathal was co-opted to CCGBC in Philips place.
MANDATE
Cathal has listed his priorities if elected to a new term in office as:
-Developing the ’20’s Plenty’ campaign across council to reduce speed limits in areas where there are vulnerable people and children.
-Cathal has listed Ballymoney DEA as an area where the disparity of clearing roads in wintry weather and needs to be addressed when compared to other DEA’s within CCGBC.
-Making sure that the services to the electorate in the area are first class while continuing to oppose cuts to vital services.
Other areas that Cathal, via the Sinn Fein manifesto, is committed to are: Equality & rights for all, marriage equality, legacy rights, opposing Brexit and a hard boarder, defending public services and living wage with a no to zero hours contracts.
