Cllr Wyser beyond years: Waterford cllr hopes to run in General Election

Off the back of a successful local election campaign, one of Waterford's youngest Councillors has announced he hopes to contest in the upcoming General Election.

Fianna Fáil's Councillor Adam Wyse spoke with the Waterford News & Star about his intention to put his name on the ticket for the Dáil.

Thirty year old Cllr Wyse said he’s very open about how he got into politics and has always been honest with his constituents, leading him to say that now is the right time for him to run for TD: “I've never shied away from that I obviously got onto the Council through the death of my father Gary, and a lot of people don't like that system,” he said.

“I wasn't aware of the system until somebody from the Council sat on my couch and told me that that's the way it works, with my two older brothers, and they both turned and looked at me and said that 'you should do it,' Cllr Wyse said.

“I wasn't aware of it until that was as much a shock to me as anyone else. It was December 2013 That I was I was put onto the Council. That was about a month and a half, two months after my dad passed, and so I knew very little about local politics other than the fact that it kept my dad away from the house,” he said with a laugh.

“But I spent the last, you know ten and a half years since that day, trying to prove people wrong, I’m trying to prove to people that I’m in it for the right reason,” he added.

One of Cllr Wyse’s proudest achievements is as former Mayor of Waterford having proposed one of the biggest developments in the State, the North Quays.

Going forward, he explained that with his background in Economics and Finance, the development of Waterford needs to be understood in that capacity and Fianna Fáil should have a say in those delicate and responsible decisions.

“It'd be arrogant to think the next Government is going to be the same,” said Cllr Wyse.

“We don't know what other parties will play. We don't know if we’ll even be invited to the table and you can look at our figures and polls all you want, but you really don't know, which is one of the reasons as well, that I think it's a better idea to run two candidates for Fianna Fáil in Waterford because I think people in Waterford need to see us as being ambitious,” he said.

Cllr Wyse hopes to run alongside his Fianna Fáil colleague, Mary Butler TD, the current Minister for Mental Health and Older People.

“Fianna Fáil always lead in Government, Fianna Fáil were always ambitious at elections and we're better at running campaigns and running elections. And even when people think we have no chance, we seem to always kind of come out of the woodwork and get votes,” Cllr Wyse said.

“What I'm looking for Waterford people to do is just consider it, would you be better off having two Fianna Fáil TDs or fresh-faced, energetic Fianna Fáil TDs, fighting for Waterford, sitting at the table, sitting at government discussions, than having people on the other side shouting inwards and maybe not being listened to.

“That is the choice, effectively, that is the choice that people in Waterford have to make. Do they want Government TDs or do they want opposition TDs? I'm just trying to give them that choice,” he added.

“I'm looking for the opportunity to serve and I've done it for ten and a half years now. I've spent pretty much half of my entire life serving the people of Waterford, believe it or not, and my goal is to stay in politics.

Cllr Wyse told the Waterford News & Star why this opportunity was so important to him, which will likely resonate with anyone who has experienced the sorrow of a family member or friend who has had no choice but to emigrate for a better quality of life.

“My goal is to stay as a public representative, and if it’s not this time, it will be the next time, and it will be time after that. But I'll be trying to go higher and do more for the people in Waterford. And again, I want people in Waterford to look and say ‘who do we have there that’s available to become a minister, that is able to sit a cabinet table, that is able to deliver things that were delivered in the past, like what Martin Cullen had done, and who has a future in politics, who has 20, 30, or 40 years of service still in them.’ I believe that’s me and I think I've proven that. I've had friends, brothers, cousins all leave the country. And I don't want those people to leave and I'm not willing to leave, so I'm going to stay, and I want to fight for it,” Cllr Wyse concluded.