Independent State candidate for Dubbo Mathew Dickerson has officially opened his campaign office in Wellington after claiming that voters around the region feel ‘disenfranchised’ with their current representation.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The campaign office, situated at 9 Nanima Crescent where the St. George Bank and Darrell England Real Estate used to reside, is the first campaign office opened as part of Mr Dickerson’s state election campaign.
“I did make the commitment at the very beginning of my campaign that I would visit all 131 localities, but I’ve also made the commitment to not just have a campaign office in Dubbo, I think it’s important to have campaign offices around the electorate,” Mr Dickerson said.
The former Dubbo mayor pledged to visit all 131 localities when he announced his campaign for office earlier this year in May.
He has also set up campaign offices in Narromine and Dubbo that are still waiting to be opened.
“I can’t open a campaign office in all 131 localities, but I will open multiple offices to give the community better access to me.”
While the building is still not fully furnished, Mr Dickerson did enlist and pay for the Wellington Men’s Shed to contribute several pieces of furniture in time for the opening.
Local elder Glenda Bell was on hand to cut the ribbon for the opening, citing what she perceived as a lack of accessibility from other candidates and members as her reason for doing so.
“Because he is an independent, and not only that, but he’s one of the first that have ever come to open a local office that is more accessible to the communities outside of Wellington,” Mrs Bell said.
Mrs Bell was optimistic that the campaign office in Wellington would also provide opportunities for people from localities like Stuart Town and Yeoval to also have their voices heard.
“I’m hoping the communities that are out there will be able to come to him with an open mind about some of the things that are happening out in there communities, he’ll be accessible there and he’ll be able to see what’s going on,” Mrs Bell said.
“Everybody else has tended to set up their offices in those bigger places like Orange or Dubbo.”
The NSW state election is expected to take place on Saturday March 23.
