2024 A WASTED OPPORTUNITY -
A CANDIDATE’S PERSPECTIVE

Written by Marcus Fernandez MBA



THE STAGE WAS SET

During the chaos that was 2020, residents were left with a classic “Sophie’s Choice”. We could delay the local elections for a “safer” time, or hold the elections as planned, with COVID-19 restrictions severely impeding the ability to campaign. In the end we proceeded during the brutal lock-downs experienced in Victoria. This was in my eyes, the lesser of two evils. Delaying democracy (even temporarily) is NEVER a good idea. History has shown us this time and time again. However, the net result meant Monash had lost two Liberal Councillors as well as a Sustainable Australia Councillor. Replaced with 2 Labor Councillors and 1 Greens, increasing the local dominance of the left.

With the supermarket melees for toilet paper a distant memory, I was hopeful 2024 would see positive change. Every second person I spoke with over the last 4 years, was unhappy with the performance of the current Councillors. With a large disenchanted populace and no campaigning restrictions in place, the stage was well and truly set for change. I could not have been more wrong.

For those who like chess, the below illustration captures the stage well. Victory was technically possible, but highly unlikely for anyone trying to take on the current establishment.

THE CANDIDATES

2 of the 11 sitting Councillors did not contest their wards, meaning a personnel change was guaranteed. And as the board shows, there were some good people who did genuinely stand up and try to take on the current establishment:

Solomon Lin (Gardiners Creek Ward)
Maria Ngo (Gardiners Creek Ward)
Louis Shivarev (Scotchmans Creek Ward)
Aret Muradyan (Waverley Park Ward)
Ethlyn King (Mayfield Ward)
Marcus Fernandez
(Jells Ward)

I know each of these candidates personally and vouch for them being true community advocates. They live locally have jobs in the real world, and care enough to make a difference. Their backgrounds include engineering, ex-police, solicitor, and education.

Many who live in Glen Waverley, Oakleigh, or Mulgrave have expressed frustration at the lack of choices on the ballot. Mulgrave and Oakleigh had just 2 candidates on the ballot. 1 was the incumbent, and the other was a green or former green.











Despite what some have said, this was not “rigged”. This simply means no-one had the testicular fortitude to step-up as a candidate or the public are ignorant of the process. Given the cost to nominate is $250 which is usually refundable, there really is no excuse for this outcome.

JELLS WARD

As a Jells Ward candidate I can write with some authority about how the election played out for those who live in Wheelers Hill and the bottom part of Glen Waverley. It was obvious that my existing name recognition and grassroots campaigning meant that no single candidate was going to beat me 1 on 1. The two images below underline two very important points. Firstly, it shows no less than 5 opponents had to unite to oppose me for a chance of victory. Secondly, we can see that the outgoing Councillor endorsed her Labor party successor. Posting the below image on her social media and sending it out to every eligible voter. Essentially it appears Tina was looking to pick her successor to ensure she maintained a degree of power behind the scenes. Rather than simply stepping aside and allowing the electorate to choose. Which is what the outgoing Councillor Theo Zographos did in Oakleigh.

“The new ‘Gallaghers Ward’ covering most of Glen Waverley had no other candidate other than incumbent (Geoff Lake). Which means they did not get a vote at all.”


How to Vote Card for Marcus Fernandez 2024 Outgoing Cr. Tina S endorses Soo-Jung (Elisha) Lee

While Soo-Jung (Elisha) Lee appeared to be the primary choice of the Labor party, there was a common link between each of my opponents. Dustin and Soo-Jung(Elisha) are both of Korean descent and both reportedly Labor party members. Soo-Jung (Elisha), Philip, and Christine all served on the Multicultural and Disability advisory committees in Monash. Christine who is also a Labor party member asked voters to put Soo-Jung/Elisha No. 2 in her candidate statement. And although I am unsure if Rajesh is a current Labor party member, his Facebook page does show ties to Labor MPs including Dan Andrews. Young Dustin Kim only entered the race very late in the piece, but he appeared to have the backing of local Labor MP John Mullahy. In fact, a reliable source informed me Dustin is actually employed by John as a staffer.

Under the guise of “diversity” and “inclusion”, Labor are very proficient at exploiting minority groups to capture votes. In fact selecting a candidate with the surname “Lee” was a masterstroke. The surname is common not just to Koreans, but Mainland Chinese, those from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. It is no co-incidence the ‘how-to-vote’ card looks like the United Nations. Data suggests people tend to vote along ethnic lines.

Soo-Jung with Tina S and Ashwood’s Labor MP (from her Instagram) Instagram post of 2 x State Labor MPs endorsing Dustin Kim (courtesy of Dustin Kim’s Instagram)

Local businesses, schools, restaurants also made it very hard for anyone outside of the Labor party to engage with. As an example, the Jells Road Asian grocers refused to put my poster up, while happy to promote the Labor candidate. One local restaurant said they did not want to get involved with politics which is understandable. Only to be seen then again promoting Soo-Jung Lee. When I returned and asked for an explanation, he told me ‘Tina helped me during Covid-19 lockdowns, so when she asked me to promote her candidate I felt obliged to comply.’ The hardest thing about being a new candidate is it is very difficult to build your personal brand and connect with locals. When you have someone to provide you a shortcut it is much easier. Imagine having 2 workers starting in an office, one is given a handover and mentored for a week and has 5 colleagues they can turn to for help. The other is told to log-in and get to work right away. With no guidance or instructions. They cannot ask any questions or seek help from anybody else. This is what occurred in Jells Ward.

The end result meant that despite working the hardest, starting the earliest, and getting more votes than any other candidate I was not successful. I am not afraid of a challenge or of hard work. I have been an underdog most of my life. In the end I won the primary vote by close to 10% but the preferences flowed very strongly to Labor’s number one pick. If I obtained just 23 votes more I would have been elected. Sitting Councillors and even the Monash CEO had already called to congratulate me prior to the preferences being distributed. Meaning the result was a shock to not just myself but even to those who have been in the political establishment for many years. Given the close margin coupled with the fact some ballots were stolen in an Australia Post van, I asked for a recount. Not once but 4 times. Sadly, all of these requests were declined. I understand recounts are unlikely to change the result, but as I received 3500 votes, I felt I owed it to them to ask the question. Knowing that I will never have the VEC double check the Jells Ward votes is indeed a bitter pill to swallow.


DUMMY CANDIDATES

I found an explanation from sitting Labor Councillor Geoff Lake which explains in a succinct way, what ‘dummy candidates’ are. It is important to be aware of this, as many use this strategy to get elected. I am proud to say that I had no ‘dummy candidate’ supporting me. I did not preference deals with anyone.

”…many are ‘dummy’ candidates who have nominated only to help another candidate to get elected. The person ‘organising’ the dummy candidate uses the dummy candidate’s statement to appeal to a particular demographic, ethnicity, or political cause then urges voters to preference in a particular way in order to cynically shepherd votes through to their preferred candidate. Often this other ‘main’ candidate who the ‘dummy’ is supporting has a completely different position on those same issues highlighted by the dummy. The usual rule of thumb is that if you have not received any material from that candidate or seen them out in the community seeking votes - chances are they are a dummy and not seriously trying or wanting to be elected.”



TRANSPARENCY HAS NO PLACE IN MONASH

There is no legal requirement for candidates to disclose party ties in a Council election. However, it is ethically wrong to not disclose this in my opinion. Unlike parliamentary candidates, local candidates keep a low profile and little is known about them. Disclosing party ties gives voters a sense of where their values lie. I was the only candidate to disclose my political party ties. To assist voters, I also printed information regarding the ties of my opponents and distributed this to over 6000 mailboxes. The reward for this public service? I was summoned by the “Local Government Inspectorate (LGI)”. It appears a complaint was made by someone, who stated that I had “mislead or deceived” voters by doing this. A breach of the Local Government Act 2020 (Section 288). The maximum penalty for this is a fine exceeding $11,000 and/or 6 months in jail. Of course, I was thorough in my research, and was able to conclusively prove the Labor ties of my opponents. The case was closed and the LGI acted promptly and fairly in my dealings with them. This is just another instance of the fearmongering, manipulation, and malice available to my opponents.. The ordeal placed a large burden on me and my family, but I remain resolute in my mission. I will not be silenced or intimidated and will always promote transparency, whatever the cost may be.


WHAT WE CAN DO

The end result of the 2024 Monash election saw 2 more people join the ruling Labor bloc. One the son of a sitting Councillor (Cameron Little), and the other the protege and diversity pick of Labor Director Tina Samardizja. Meaning Labor is the only party anyone has ties to in the City of Monash. However, I remain optimistic.

The election results highlight the old adage “United we stand, divided we fall”. We must give credit to the Labor party. They are incredibly disciplined, well-organised, and experienced. More than any other party in the area. And it is next to impossible for a genuine independent win a seat here. They need to have an affordable and reliable printer, a team to assist with letterboxing, know all the key stakeholders, and local issues. To have a real chance to win they also need to spend a decent amount of money, create an online presence, have locals to erect signs, and have a family and employer to encourage and support a candidate. It is no easy task.

The proverbial worm is turning if we look around the world. Trump has dodged jail to destroy the Democratic party at the polls. Anthony Albanese’s popularity is at an all-time low as the impacts of the cost of living crisis and erosion of our national identity start to show. At a state level, we can see a new leader emerge for the opposition. One who is resolute in tackling the state debt and rampant crime issues. We can do the same here in Monash. 2028 will be here before we know it. We need to put ‘wokeness’ behind us, unite, and together finally give the people the leaders they deserve.

The below is an excerpt from the Labor Party Manual, which highlights how Labor aligned Councillors operate. Forming a “Municipal Caucus” to make decisions for matters such as the election of Mayor behind closed doors. Also, outlines the requirement for Labor party members to preference other Labor party candidates to the exclusion of all others.