LIMERICK City East representative Cllr Elena Secas has resigned from the Labour Party citing poor support as the reason for her shock departure.
Cllr Secas was re-elected in 2024 as a Labour councillor for the third time in a row. Before that, she contested the 2009 local elections and secured over 1100 votes, narrowly missing out election to the local authority.
A resident of Castletroy, Cllr Secas entered politics to contribute to making Limerick a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
Originally from Moldova, Cllr Secas has been living in Limerick with her family since 2001. She holds an MA in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies with First Class Honours from the University of Limerick, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Romanian and English Philology from Stefan Cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania.
Announcing her shock resignation this Wednesday afternoon, she said: “I have been a member of and represented the Labour Party for almost 20 years and I have run for the party in all four local elections since 2009, being successfully elected in the past three elections.”
“Unfortunately, in the last elections, especially in 2024, I had very little support from the party locally and things haven’t really changed since, so I have now reached the point where I feel I can no longer continue to fly the party flag on my own.”
Cllr Secas considers her core policy is to provide community with a way to send a message from the ground directly into the Council chamber, and to bring to the table a sense of priorities that values communities and families. She now plans to move forward as an Independent council members.
“I have taken my time to carefully consider this decision and have not taken it lightly. I am really grateful to the very few local party members who would have supported and helped me in the past,” she said.
“I will continue to serve on Limerick City and County Council as an independent councillor and I wish to assure people that my main priority remains to represent them to the best of my abilities.
As an independent councillor, I will continue to work really hard and to uphold the values I have always shared.”