'Thank you for putting your trust in me' - Cllr Trevor Smith

Smith elected to the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District 'on own merit'.

Cllr Trevor Smith (FG) has been deemed elected to the second seat on the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District after securing 1,763 votes and exceeding the quota of 1,700 . He was tight on the heels of Cllr Shane P O’Reilly (II) who topped the poll with 1,874 votes.

Cllr Smith was first elected in 2019 after taking the seat vacated by his father Paddy and in jubilation tonight, he thanked everyone who supported him over the last five years, and those who voted for him on Friday.

“I am delighted to get across the line because it was a tight race all day. But Shane P is number one and I’m number two and I am delighted to get elected,” he added. Meanwhile, Cllr Smith thanked all his supporters. “I want to thank those who voted for me; those people have put their trust in me for the last five years.

"It’s an honour to be elected and I would have worked hard over the last five years but I couldn’t have done it without the people putting their trust in me. And, I couldn’t have done it without my family who helped me to no end.

"My dad, my brothers and sisters helped on the campaign but I want to especially thank my wife and children because they put up with a lot for the last while. I really can’t thank them enough.”

With regard to his five-year track record, Cllr Smith believes he proved himself during that time and in the run up to Loocl Elections 24, the electorate “could see that”.

“It’s great to prove yourself and that you can get elected, and it was definitely said to me that ‘you got your father’s seat’. But I have worked hard over the last five years; I got elected here tonight and I got that on my own merit because of the work I am doing on the ground in my communities.”

Cllr Smith believes that when constituents vote for a candidate, they are placing “great faith” in that person, a responsibility which he takes very seriously. “Local Elections are completely different from national elections,” he continued. “In local elections people from all parties vote for their local candidate.

"They see you working away on the ground and it is all of this that is evident here tonight. People doing well in their local areas have the local people to thank because they would have put us there in the first place.”