After a late night meeting with a tea and chocolate support group on Sunday one more woman said she would run with me. I will admit that I was afraid to go forward as a candidate alone, I’m not the worlds biggest extrovert, more an introvert who can when the situation demands turn on some sort of inner Amazon button. Having others to run with me lessened the pressure on me, it made it harder to track and target me. Or so I felt the weekend I decided to run for the General Election 2011.
I had collected 50 signatures Sunday evening, ignorant to the fact that I needed special forms on which to collect them, it was, after all my first time and I had no inside knowledge as to what the mechanism for putting oneself forward for election was. I took Monday off work, drove to the courthouse and picked up the 30 correct assenters forms necessary at the registrars office. I asked if I could pick up a number of other forms for the other ladies, (we were still hoping for 10 more) the lady in the office said she’d have to photocopy them as she did not have enough, ‘call back at 4, I’ll have them ready for you’
The office filled with men in suits, no smiles from these ‘boys’, clothes that cost more than my car, and me without even a hairbrush pulled through my barnet. Then suddenly I was faced with one of the ‘poster faces’ a candidate from the main party. He looked at the forms in my now shaking hands, suddenly this had moved from a plan into the real world, it was concrete, there was a flash of realization in his eye.
‘Are you collecting them for somebody?’
‘No, Im putting myself forward’ I replied rising my feet to meet his handshake.
‘Very good, I look forward to having a woman at the debates’ Knees knocking now, I laughed and said ‘Shur’ Ill add a bit of glamour to the occasion’. Not a Duchene smile to be had from the ‘boys’ but a series of polite but intolerant looks.
The room started to empty almost as soon as it had filled, the men were ushered to the registrars office to hand in their nomination papers, the second party candidiate was the last to leave the room, he shook my hand. I mumbled something about having a few women going forward the next time and suddenly they were gone. My legs were still shaking when the office worker returned to inform me I had to go to the Council offices to collect a copy of the draft register.
The council employee who I was sent to was quick to inform me I was ‘Too late, closing dates finished’ I replied that I had just come from the registrars office. ‘Oh, yes, sure, we keep it down here, come on I’ll get you a copy’
Leaving with a box full of documents the arduous task of collecting people, bringing them to the police stations in ones and twos and getting their details right began. I was taken aback by the proliferation of names of townships and boroughs which many assentors had never used to address themselves or knew about. The option of having a solicitor sign the papers instead of the gardai was explored. I rang 3 solicitors who could have notarized the documents. None of them required me to bring the people in person to their office. One offered to do it for as little as ten euro a form. That’s 300 euros, without actually witnessing one signature. I’m sure that these are mere trifling things when you’re in ‘the party’ but as a fresh horse I was learning fast that there are rules, then there are RULES. As I wanted to run in as honest and transparent a way as possible I would not be spending money I didn’t have, so the rounds of friends and family looking for 30 registered voters began, with it the constant trips to and from the garda station.
I returned to the courthouse at 2 to collect the papers for my running mates, the woman who dealt with me earlier was different. ‘I’m sorry but I cannot give you the papers, they have to come in and collect them themselves, I was told this’. Her body language and demeanor told me it was not her decision. It was strange that a task that was ‘no trouble’ less than 4 hours ago had suddenly become trouble. The machinery works fast, rumors abounded that I was not alone, that there were possibly 12 women going forward. It had been 56 hours since my decision, and despite the fear, the lack of sleep, the realization that this was getting very real, I relished every wall or problem that appeared, these were things I could deal with, they made me stronger.
