I see a lot of similarities between Mayo and Scranton, says US politician Bill Gaughan
Caoimhín Rowland
Bill Gaughan is vying to become County Commissioner of Lackawanna County, the young Democrat aims to follow in the footsteps of Scranton’s most famed son, Joe Biden.
Gaughan is a politician with his eye firmly on the future, having been selected to be the Democratic nominee for County Commissioner, the elections of which will be held on November 7 later this year.
Bill has strong family connections to north Mayo, through Brian and Anne Gaughan, the Holmes family and Anthony Ferguson, who still reside in the Parish of the Backs and Attymass.
It’s Bills first time in Ireland, visiting Mayo with his parents. Flying from Newark to Dublin on Wednesday, last night he met with local councillors in Mayo and was welcomed by Cathaoirleach Michael Loftus.
“I just can’t believe the welcome,” Gaughan says, “everyone I’ve met has a smile on their face and a good word to say, it feels very special being here.” He said while addressing the audience inside the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide.
The ties that bind Scranton Pennsylvania to county Mayo were strengthened in April during the visit of Joe Biden to Ballina. Patti Shields, the chairperson of Democrats Abroad stated her desire to host more events in Mayo as they look to register Americans in Ireland to vote in next year’s Presidential election.
“Mayo is a hidden gem, now firmly on the map for US tourists” she told me.
Scranton was once home to booming coal mines that helped fuel the US economy, those jobs are long gone and the “Electric City” as Scranton is called, is still reeling from the loss of those jobs.
Gaughan, however, envisions tech jobs coming to Scranton, “right now there are a lot of those jobs in New York, but it’s so expensive to live in New York City, it’s a lot cheaper to live in Scranton.”
Aims of enticing remote tech workers to Scranton, which is just a little over 2 hours driving from New York City are to be helped by the cities two major hospitals and strong education system. Infrastructure too, a pillar of Biden’s 2020 campaign will also be vital.
“Rail service is going to be big,” Gaughan adds, as he remarks upon the reopening of the Scranton to New York City train line which is set to come back into operation soon.
Plans to utilise routes for active travel, embrace pedestrian friendly zones and enhance nature walks are top of his agenda also. “We want to further our trails, all along the Lackawanna River, make more of that use of our nature.”
If tech jobs can help professionals who are in search of cheaper living costs found in Scranton, then it is Gaughan’s belief that the amenities, infrastructure and nature trails will be there to entice them to stay. Gaughan said, “I would like more of Scranton to look like it does here in Mayo.”