Cian O’Callaghan currently has the most public endorsements from Social Democrats councillors to be the next leader of the party.
Three local representatives have backed the Dublin Bay North TD to succeed departing co-leaders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall.
Holly Cairns has the backing of two councillors, while Jennifer Whitmore has been endorsed by one public representative so far.
Meanwhile, of the 16 Social Democrats councillors who responded to an Irish Times survey, 10 said they wanted to see a leadership contest take place. There will only be a leadership race if more than one person is nominated before Wednesday’s deadline.
Gary Gannon opts out
With potential candidates requiring at least one other TD to second their nomination, whether or not a contest will happen will depend on the considerations of the parliamentary party members in the coming days.
[ Social Democrats to hold leadership election as Murphy and Shortall step downOpens in new window ]
Cork southwest TD Ms Cairns, Mr O’Callaghan of Dublin Bay North and Wicklow’s Ms Whitmore are all mulling a run to replace co-leaders Ms Murphy and Ms Shortall who announced they were stepping down earlier this week.
Gary Gannon, the party’s other TD, has ruled himself out.
All three have the declared backing of councillors should they choose to run – with support, for the most part, coming from local representatives in their constituencies.
Ross O’Connell, who was co-opted onto Cork County Council to replace Ms Cairns after she won her Dáil seat, said she would be “perfect for the role. Like Róisín and Catherine, she is hard-working… and genuinely believes in a better Ireland for all.”
He added that the other TDs would also be more than capable and a co-leadership arrangement could also work. A contest, he added, “would be the fairest and most democratic method of selection”.
Carly Bailey, a councillor in southwest Dublin, also backed Ms Cairns while praising her potential rivals as “excellent”.
She also said: “I would love to see a contest” but the TDs are thinking about their positions and “I will respect whatever decision they take.”
Dublin Fingal-based councillor Paul Mulville said all three possible contenders are “solid” but he would back Mr O’Callaghan, the party’s housing spokesman, if his name went forward.
[ Social Democrats face decision on new leadership and possible new partnersOpens in new window ]
“I’d be of the strong view that the need to hold the Government to account on their failure to take real and meaningful action to address the acute housing needs of our locked-out generation must be a priority for our new leader,” he said.
Mr Mulville said he believed a lot of members hope there would be a contest so the grassroots were involved in the debate on policy and strategy and could have a say on who should be leader.
‘Fantastic leader’
Joan Hopkins, who was co-opted on to Fingal County Council to replace Mr O’Callaghan in 2020, also said it was important for the membership to have their say.
She said any of the three TDs would make “a fantastic leader”, but added that “Cian O’Callaghan and I work really well together in our constituency so he has my vote if he decides to run.”
Clontarf councillor Catherine Stocker – currently on maternity leave – said she would like to see a contest and if Mr O’Callaghan decided to put his name forward she would “absolutely” be backing him.
She said: “Cian has been an incredible mentor to me in terms of my political involvement and I think he’s also been really brilliant as our housing spokesperson in terms of pulling the Minister and the department up on detail and failures in housing policy.”
Ms Stocker added that, as Social Democrats national organiser for a number of years, Mr O’Callaghan had been “central to building the party”.
She said that if Mr O’Callaghan decided not to run, “I’d be very happy to see either Holly or Jen in the role.”
[ Holly Cairns front-runner for Social Democrats leadershipOpens in new window ]
Greystones councillor Mark Barry said he would like to see a leadership contest and for Ms Whitmore, the party’s spokeswoman on climate and children, to run.
“Jennifer brings great energy and passion into everything she does and would be ideal to lead the Social Democrats into the next election,” he said.
Four other councillors, Eoin Ó Broin in Clondalkin, Clare Claffey in Birr, Karl Stanley – who is covering Ms Stocker’s maternity leave – and Bill Clear in Naas, said they would like to see a leadership contest but did not say who they would support.
Coy about allegiance
A further five councillors: Dave Quinn in Dún-Laoghaire; Cabra-Glasnevin’s Cat O’Driscoll; Nuala Killeen in Leixlip; Ronan Moore in Meath; and Mary Callaghan, a Ballymun-Finglas representative, did not express a preference either way on whether there should be a leadership contest. Neither did they say who they would support in any such race.
Clane councillor Aidan Farrelly declined to comment, saying it would not be appropriate due to his role on the party’s national executive.
