LOCAL government figures past and present are set to vie for Liberal Party pre-selection in Polwarth, following the retirement of incumbent MP Terry Mulder.
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Former Ballarat City councillor Stephen Hishon will join Colac businessman Richard Riordan in the pre-selection contest set to be held later this month.
Now based in Lorne, Mr Hishon served as Ballarat City councillor in the early 2000s and operates a real estate business. He has stepped down from his role as chief party administrator in Polwarth to contest the pre-selection ballot.
Mr Riordan declared his intention to run for pre-selection earlier this week. The owner of Riordan Colac Hire has held a number of public offices including with the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and Colac Area Health.
Several sources suggested Geelong deputy mayor Michelle Heagney would also enter the pre-selection contest but she ruled out a tilt when contacted by The Standard on Friday.
Deakin University political expert Geoff Robinson said whoever the Liberal Party pre-selected was an almost “unbackable favourite” to become the next Polwarth MP. He said the successfully endorsed candidate was likely to either be a councillor or play a leading role in agri-politics.
“The local branch members in Polwarth will be looking for someone with a profile in the community who can go on to be a minister in the next Coalition government,” Dr Robinson said.
“It’s likely the successful candidate will be someone who has served as a mayor in one of the councils contained within Polwarth.
“Either that, or someone like Simon Ramsay who has been a leader in the VFF or elsewhere in agri-politics.”
The last National Party tilt for Polwarth was underwhelming.
When Mr Mulder first won Polwarth at the 1999 state election, he secured 41 per cent of the primary vote against Labor candidate Steve Gartland on approximately 24 per cent and National Party candidate Paul Couch on nearly 17 per cent. This was despite star footballer Mr Couch’s high profile as a Brownlow medallist.
Dr Robinson said despite Polwarth being a particularly rural seat, the National Party had been historically weak in the Colac region.
“The 1999 state election is a good indicator but a more recent example is the 2013 federal election when the National Party stood a candidate in the Corangamite electorate,” he said.
“Although Corangamite is more urban, the candidate (Andrew Black) won an embarrassingly low number of votes, about one per cent, which was down there with some of the fringe parties.”