ALYSSA Hayden says she is ready to get to work for the people of Darling Range following her victory in Saturday’s by-election.
Ms Hayden stormed to victory in the by-election as she reclaimed the Darling Range seat for the Liberal Party, winning just over 53 per cent of the vote to finish ahead of Labor’s Tania Lawrence, who received just under 47 per cent.
The former Member for the East Metropolitan Region said even though she was not yet sworn in, she was ready to get to work straight away.
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READ NOW“I’m a Member of Parliament as of Sunday and I would like to start work now,” she said. “I’m wanting to have community barbecues around the electorate to thank people for voting and start the communication; I’m here to stay and want to keep communication open.
“I want to make sure Mark McGowan has learnt the people of Darling Range have voted on behalf of everyone in WA.”
Ms Hayden admitted she had a few nerves on the night, but was glad her victory had been all but confirmed by about 8pm on the night.
“My stomach flipped a few times when a couple came in not in my favour, but I was delighted we got an answer on the night,” she said.
Her win came on the back of a 9 per cent swing against Labor in the electorate, which had won the long-standing Liberal seat at last year’s state election.
Preliminary polls had tipped Labor to retain the seat, despite initial candidate Colleen Yates’ resignation following exaggerated claims on her Linkedin profile.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation fared best out of the remaining parties, as candidate Ron Caddies claimed just under 8 per cent of the vote.
Ms Hayden takes over the seat vacated by the disgraced Barry Urban, who resigned before he could be sacked for lying during an investigation into claims he had made about his credentials.
Voter turnout was just under 77 per cent.