by Sahar Foladi
A surprised Greater Dandenong council election candidate Alice Phuong Le was caught unawares when she’d provisionally won the Springvale Central ward after preferences on 7 November.
“So excited, so surprised to be honest,” the ALP member told Star Journal,
“When I did it (signed up), the entire time during the campaign I worked so hard.
“Every single day I worked for hours and asked residents to support me, and I’ll work for the community. Oh my goodness!”
Her excitement on full display, the Area Specialist real-estate agent has called Springvale home for almost a decade.
With 1669 primary votes, she had been narrowly leading by just 34 votes over ALP candidate Meng Bunlay (1635) and 41 over Minh Le (1628).
However, after preferences, she drew away from Minh Le to win by 1077 votes, on the back of a 71 per cent preference flow from party colleague Bunlay.
Her contender Meng Bunlay says her gender may have contributed to her winning as she was the only female amongst the six candidates for the ward.
“She campaigned well. It could be that she’s a female while most of us are male – that could be advantageous for her.
“Other candidates had a stronger base from the start, they campaigned ahead of me.
“At the end of the day, the most votes win. This is democracy, I grew up in this country and I respect that.”
Meanwhile Melinda Yim – who stood as an independent but is applying for Labor membership – comfortably defeated long-term ex-councillor Peter Brown by 1330 votes after preferences in Keysborough Ward.
Brown, a former Labor member who stood as a genuine independent, first served on the council from 2003-16 and 2019-21 and was a one-time mayor.
Yim says Brown was a concern for her during the election campaign.
“He was my biggest competitor, I was worried he’d take the seat.
“I wouldn’t have been disappointed if he did win because I think I agree with a majority of his policies.
“I would’ve respected the residents’ decision.”
The young 28-year-old is waiting on her ALP membership to be approved, saying she’s looking forward to work with her “family’s favourite” the five-time mayor Jim Memeti from Dandenong Ward, who presented her family’s citizenship award as a mayor of Greater Dandenong Council.
“My family would definitely be excited for me to work with him.
“My major policy is assisting with residents with disabilities and elderly residents. They could have more attention given to them.”
The quality-assurance assistant in the pharmaceutical industry says she’d like to focus on the upkeep of parks, reserves and roads.
She says she chose to pursue science at the University of Melbourne to “better understand” her sister’s condition, who is intellectually disabled, and also of others in the disability community.
In an incredible outcome in Cleeland Ward, Greens party member Rhonda Garad defeated the ALP’s Angela Long, a three-time mayor who had been on the council for the past 25 long years.
The Cleeland ward also went into preference vote with Garad drawing out 424 votes ahead after preferences, beating three ALP candidates.
She will be teaming up with the victorious Greens party member Isabella Do in Keysborough South Ward, who won 47.5 per cent on primaries. After preferences, she defeated second-placed ALP member Alexandra Bryant by more than a whooping 2529 votes.
Labor members Phillip Danh (Yarraman Ward, 58.7 per cent), Lana Formoso (Noble Park North, 55.5 per cent) and Jim Memeti (Dandenong, 62.8 per cent) as well as conservative independent Bob Milkovic (Dandenong North, 52 per cent) all polled more than 50 per cent primaries – and have provisionally won their seats.
Sophie Tan, also ALP-affiliated, was elected unopposed in Noble Park Ward.
Counting in Springvale North and Springvale South wards will continue tomorrow (8 November), with ALP incumbents Sean O’Reilly and Loi Truong favoured to reclaim their seats.
