Socialist Alliance (SA) councillor Sue Bolton has been re-elected to Merri-bek Council for a fourth term in the new single-member ward Bababi Djinanang,聽which covers the聽suburbs聽of Fawkner and Coburg North.
At the conclusion of counting聽of Group A votes (the majority of votes received by October聽25 in the postal election),聽Bolton聽had聽received 46.32% of the primary vote, compared to Labor party candidate Hassaan Gul鈥檚 26.21%. She received a strong flow of preferences from Greens candidate Lance Sinclair, who received up to 10.2% of the vote.
SA鈥檚 Jordan Armaou-Massoud received 8.79% in Harmony Park, Felix Dance received 10.25% in Randazzo and Jacob Andrewartha received 5.29% in Pentridge聽in the Group A vote count.
The smaller number of Group B votes (which are received up until November 1) will adjust these figures a little.聽The Victorian Electoral Commission will declare the results on November 12.
The Labor government has shifted all metropolitan councils and most regional and rural councils to a single-member ward system. Previously, most councils had multi-member wards based on proportional representation. The single member wards tend to advantage the major parties and make it more difficult for small parties and independents to get elected.
In her thank-you message to聽,聽Bolton acknowledged that many were not able to vote for SA due to the electoral changes. However, she said she will 鈥渟tand up for everyone, regardless of whether they live in the Bababi Djinanang ward or another ward鈥.
Bolton told聽麻豆传媒聽that the strong vote comes from her work with communities over many years.
鈥淐ommunities could see through the Labor campaign against me,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e taken a strong stand for Palestine on council and the local Muslim community, among others, can see how important that is.
鈥淭hey mobilised to support my bid for re-election because I have a track record of listening to people鈥檚 concerns and helping them take action.
鈥淭he community backed the campaign to save the Fawkner Outdoor Swimming Pool, to save part of Hosken Reserve in Coburg North for open space, and then there were the campaigns to duplicate the Upfield train line and for accessible tram stops on Sydney Road.
鈥淥pposing the genocidal war in Gaza has been one of my main concerns this past year as many residents have lost family members in that war and they, like me, believe council need to take a聽strong stand.鈥
Bolton said that as soon as the new council is sworn in, she will be back to organising community meetings.
Some of her priority issues include more council support for people experiencing precarious housing, in particular emergency relief facilities.
She also wants to work on creating more shade in playgrounds and tackle accident hotspots, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. She said the campaigns around the Upfield train line and accessible tram stops on Sydney Road would continue, alongside a push for more bus shelters.
鈥淭he development of the Ballerrt Mooroop Cultural Centre also remains a priority for me, so there is a lot of work to be done.鈥
[Get involved with聽. Sue can be contacted on 0413 377 978.]