Hazel Chu to step down as chair of Green Party executive committee
over 3 years in The Irish Times
Hazel Chu has announced that she will shortly be stepping down from the role of chair of the Green Party executive.
Ms Chu, who is the former lord mayor of Dublin and a councillor for the party, had been chair of the executive committee for five years.
Ms Chu is the national co-ordinator for the party and its spokesperson for enterprise. She was elected to the council as a first time candidate in the 2019 local elections.
She was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin in June 2020 and was succeeded in the role by Alison Gilliland.
In a post on Twitter on Tuesday night, Ms Chu said she would be stepping down from her role, though she did not give an explanation about why.
Ms Chu said she was “privileged in my terms to help us go from minimal reps to returning 48 Cllrs, 12 TDs, 4 Senators, 2 MEPs.”
“My roles had been full of incredible highs & difficult challenges, through it all it was an honour to represent the members voices & ensure they were always heard,” her Twitter post read.
Ms Chu thanked the party leaders, its executive and its staff for their support.
“Most of all I would like to thank our members, many putting in many hours of volunteering that got us to where we are. I wish our new Cathaoirleach and new Executive the very best of luck,” she said.
In April, tensions arose within the party after Ms Chu decided to stand for the Seanad byelection as an independent. However, the executive committee decided not to follow the majority of the parliamentary party in calling for Ms Chu to step aside as party chair at the time during her bid for a Seanad seat.
Instead, it ordered a review of how Seanad byelection candidates are selected.
In a statement to members at the time, the committee said it believed the review would “allow us to move on from recent events, while ensuring that any such incidents are avoided in future”.
Ms Chu oversaw the party strategy and electoral strategy for the Greens in her role as chair and said she was now “ delighted to hand over the reins to another female chair.”