Former Lord Mayor of Dublin, Dublin City Council councillor and Green Party chairwoman Hazel Chu is considering running in College’s Seanad byelection.
Chu is a Politics and History graduate of University College Dublin, as well as a Law graduate of King’s Inn. Chu can only run for College’s Seanad byelection if two Trinity graduates nominate her, and a further eight support the nomination.
The byelection is predicted to be held by the end of the year.
It will be College’s first byelection since 1979, following a vacancy after former Senator Ivana Bacik was elected to the Dáil as Labour TD for Dublin Bay South on July 9.
Speaking to the Irish Times, Chu said that she will make her decision on whether to run after consulting with fellow members of the Green Party, and making sure that everyone is “aligned” on the issue.
“I want to make sure that everyone (including leadership and the executive) is agreeable”, Chu stated.
Chu unsuccessfully ran as an Independent candidate in a Seanad byelection in April, against the wishes of Green Party leader Eamon Ryan.
Additionally, Hazel Chu put her name forward as Green Party candidate for the Dublin Bay South byelection in June. However, councillor Claire Byrne was ultimately chosen as the party’s candidate, and the race was won by Ivana Bacik.
The upcoming Seanad byelection will see President of the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) Gisèle Scanlon, decorated former international rugby player Hugo MacNeill, former army officer and disability rights advocate Tom Cloonan, and Labour politician Ursula Quill contest the seat.
