Green Party TD for Dublin West Paul Gogarty promised today he would "maintain the highest level of decorum" if elected to the proposed new position as mayor of Dublin.
The Green spokesman on education - who has been involved in a number of high-profile incidents, including the use of four-letter words, in the Dáil - pointed out that London politicians Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson had “successfully made the transition from mavericks into mayors”.
Unveiling the new website www.mayor4dublin.ie as part of an information campaign on the new position, Mr Gogarty said the mayoralty was “a genuine effort to bring power back to the people, to save money rather than cost money”.
If Dubliners wished to retain the traditional post of lord mayor in addition to the new position of directly elected Mayor, he said Green Party leader and Environment Minister John Gormley would be amenable to such a proposal. Legislation to establish the new post was published last week.
It is proposed to bring the current lord mayor’s post to an end in the local elections of 2014, but Mr Gogarty said: “If people want to have a separate lord mayor of Dublin and a business-type mayoral role, that’s fair enough, I do believe the Minister will be able to accede to that.”
Speaking at the Point Village, Mr Gogarty would not finally confirm he will putting himself forward for the job: “I have indicated in the past that I would be interested in running. I still am, but I haven’t made my mind up yet.”
When it was put to him that he had been guilty of undignified conduct in the past, he said: “Occasionally I make mistakes or go over the top, but that’s symbolic of the passion that I actually have. If you look at characters like Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson in London, they successfully made the transition from mavericks into mayors, so I would hope to do the same thing.
“Any time I have been involved in official functions or carrying out my official duties as a deputy or as a councillor, I have always maintained the highest level of decorum. I’m not one for tomfoolery in general. Do I have a wicked sense of humour? Yes I do.
“But anyone who is running for high office has made mistakes. I’m not going to mention people running for taoiseach but they have all made mistakes, it’s all down in print,” Mr Gogarty said.
He said the new post would make Dublin work better for its inhabitants: "The new mayor will be an exciting and timely change to the way Dublin is run. For the first time, people will have a say in who is really in charge of their city and their services, the way that people in London, Paris and New York do.