Councillor avoids poles and tops poll

A POLL-TOPPING councillor has maximised his vote for the fourth election in a row without climbing a single ladder.

Independent councillor Padge Reck topped the poll in both the Wexford Borough Council and Wexford County Council elections in his native county without using a single poster.

As other candidates face the daunting task of taking down their posters, Mr Reck is sitting back and enjoying his success.

Mr Reck, a full-time public representative, says he sees absolutely no point in having his mugshot plastered on every lamppost in the county. "I don't use posters and I don't use any form of advertising.

"I never have. If people don't know me by now, I would have been wasting my time running for re-election in the first place. If they don't know me after 25 years in politics, it doesn't say much for me, does it?"

His campaign featured an intensive door-to-door campaign. And the electorate knows at this point what he stands for. "What you see is what you get from me. The huge amount of posters slapped up on every pole and roadside around the country just confuse people.

"A candidate is elected for what they do and not for the posters they put up. My campaign proves that."

Mr Reck said the secret of his success in the past four elections is simple hard work. He says he has a proven track record, and an excellent team of supporters.

His primary concerns in the new term are those shared by his electorate setting up a third level college in Wexford, getting a senior citizens' home set up in the old county hospital as well as providing social and affordable housing.