Friday 12th November 2021
MEDIA RELEASE – EMBARGOED TILL 4PM SUNDAY 14th NOVEMBER
We are Hughes endorses community independent candidate ‘We Are Hughes’ is thrilled to announce Linda Seymour as the preferred community independent candidate for Hughes in the upcoming Federal Election. Our announcement will take place at our community event on Sunday the 14th of November at Bonnet Bay Football club at 3pm.
‘We Are Hughes’ formed in October 2020 to identify an Independent candidate that would reflect the views and values of the Hughes community.
The grassroots organisation canvassed the views of more than 400 constituents to tap into the issues that are most important to Hughes voters. Volunteers interviewed people at events and market stalls, and importantly borrowed from the Voices for Indi model of “Kitchen Table Conversations”. In this setting up to ten people speak on a range of issues, each person given equal time to talk and importantly be heard and hear others’ views.
In keeping with their values of “Integrity, Informed and Inclusive” they ran events with experts on COVID-19, Climate change and Integrity.
We Are Hughes supporter Leigh Furner said being part of the selection panel that selected Linda as the candidate was an honour and a privilege.
“We knew we were making a decision on behalf of our ‘We are Hughes’ community. We are thrilled to endorse Linda; we know she will be a wonderful representative for the Hughes community and our best chance to win our seat”.
After an Expression of Interest process, a panel of ‘We Are Hughes’ volunteers selected and interviewed five amazing Hughes residents. They shared the recorded interviews and their opinions about each candidate with an advisory board made up of Hughes locals and mentors with experience in the Community Independents movement. Linda Seymour is a long-term local, born and bred in Lilli Pilli. Together with her husband Ross, country bred from Ariah Park, they set up home in Bonnet Bay where they raised their two daughters, Ayla and Jessi, amongst the sandstone and the bush.
Linda has run her own consulting business for over 20 years. She has enjoyed a successful career as an award-winning architectural design and communication specialist working on Olympic venues and master planning in Sydney, Athens and Beijing and Rio and more recently international convention centres. Linda never planned to enter politics, but as her involvement in We Are Hughes grew she realised she needed to “do something”.
“For years our current member has mocked science, denied climate change, dismissed catastrophic bushfires as arson and has promoted unproven COVID-19 treatment. This is not someone who represents my views or the views of many in Hughes,”
“In ‘We Are Hughes’ I found a group of like-minded thinkers. We came from different backgrounds and with different voting histories, but we were united in our fight to find a representative who cared about the people of Hughes and our shared future. We love where we live, especially our local environment, but there is a lot of concern from all sides of the political divide about what Australia is doing to address our changing climate and the integrity of our representatives.
“I want to represent every person in Hughes, and I want them to know that no matter who they are, no matter their circumstances, they can have a local MP that will represent their interests and work to improve their lives with respect and dignity.” ‘We Are Hughes’ looks forward to providing plenty of opportunities in the coming months for members of our community to meet and share their ideas with our endorsed candidate, Linda Seymour. For event details and media contact:
Anneliese Alexander 0422 065 0558
or email events@wearehughes.org
Event details https://www.wearehughes.org/post/meet-our-candidate-14th-november