The Socialist Alliance's Sam Wainwright was elected to the Fremantle Council on October 17. He was elected with 438 votes (33.44%) and will represent the Hilton ward.
Wainwright is the first Socialist Alliance candidate to be elected to a local government position in Australia.
He campaigned on a platform to make Fremantle a "fight climate change council" and said council should not use anti-union laws or individual contracts to drive down the wages and conditions for council staff.
Council rates should be based on residents' ability to pay, to reduce the burden on pensioners, retirees and low-income earners, Wainwright said.
He also called for an end to the outsourcing of council services to protect working conditions and services, and to give residents a greater democratic say over how services are delivered.
Wainwright is a co-convenor of Socialist Alliance in Western Australia and an activist in the Maritime Union of Australia. Below, he thanks his supporters and explains the importance of his victory.
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My election to Fremantle council is a victory for all those like me who believe the council can and should play an active role in involving people in decision making, protecting the environment, campaigning for workers' rights and making a place in the community for people who are too often left out, such as Indigenous Australians or people with disabilities.
I think I'm the first socialist elected to public office in Western Australia for a long time, if not ever. Most candidates for council try to appeal to the middle ground and keep their political affiliations quiet.
I don't believe in that approach. I think it's better to be upfront about your beliefs. Throughout the campaign I emphasised that I was a staunch socialist, unionist and environmentalist.
I didn't expect everyone to sign up to everything I stand for. But I did ask people to believe that I would be a hard working campaigner for their rights. I'm really grateful and humbled that so many people have shown their confidence in me and saw my background as a positive.
Active support for the campaign came from all sorts of places: members of Socialist Alliance, the Greens and the ALP all pitched in; many unionists and community activists helped out; and last but not least, everyday residents who don't wear a political label but want to see the sort of change we talked about in the campaign.
The election result belongs to these people and I know the hard work now begins.
With three different Greens members running for the position of Fremantle mayor I was worried they would take votes from each other and allow a more conservative candidate to win.
However, Brad Pettit's win was emphatic and I extend my congratulations to him for his strong and vibrant campaign. There has been a real change of the guard on the council and I expect there will be some passionate and intense debate about the future of Fremantle.
I think this is a good thing and will be arguing my case like everyone else. At the same time, I pledge to work constructively with the rest of council where we can find common ground on the way forward.