On the 27th of April, around 50 committed DLP men and women survived the windiest election day in recent memory to hand out how-to-vote cards for Geraldine Gonsalvez, the DLP’s enthusiastic candidate for a by-election in the Victorian Parliament’s lower house seat of Lyndhurst.
As a local woman she has put considerable time and effort over a number of years into service for the community, fighting for a number of causes and serving as Dandenong Ward Councillor. The response of the people of Lyndhurst on election day showed how highly they regard her, giving her 11% of the primary vote, the best result for the DLP in over 30 years.
The result put the DLP in third position for first preference, narrowly behind Family First, but more importantly ahead of both the Sex Party and the Greens.
The DLP would like to thank all those wonderful people who contributed on polling booths before and on election day and those who assisted with letterboxing. A special mention should go to our Senator John Madigan, who flew back from commitments in Adelaide on the afternoon of the 27th out of respect for all the volunteers and to celebrate with Geraldine whatever the result. This action emphasises that the DLP really is a party of principle and of the people.
A VERY special mention should go to campaign manager Des Kelly, who tirelessly worked for months leading up to the election on one of the best run DLP campaigns of late. Without his fantastic work and that of Geraldine with the support of her wonderful family, this momentous day for the DLP would not have happened.
There is now a great sense of hope and anticipation within the Party which we are sure will translate over the coming months into momentum for the DLP, heading into the federal election in September.
If you would like to see the full by-election results they are available at: http://www.abc.net.au/elections/vic/2013/lyndhurst/result.htm
