by Cam Lucadou-Wells
Three-time mayor Angela Long has announced she’ll seek re-election in the upcoming Greater Dandenong council elections.
Longevity is in the Cr Long name – having served as councillor for more than 25 years.
She has also just received her ALP life membership for 40 years in the party.
“I was a loyal supporter (of the Labor party) even before I joined. I’ve enjoyed my time and been on polling booths at every state and federal booths and on council elections.”
She joins husband Barry, who was awarded Labor Party life membership in 2017.
Cr Long – who has survived narrow victories in the past – says no councillor seat was safe at the upcoming council election.
There were fresh faces at the previous election in 2020. Two councillors resigned, two others were defeated and one was ruled ineligible to stand.
Last year, she was in the middle of a furore over seeking ratepayer funds for her personal legal action against former councillor Maria Sampey.
Her councillor colleagues rejected Cr Long’s bid to be reimbursed $8900 in personal legal expenses.
But she was confident her profile in the community, such as running the North Dandenong senior citizens club, will hold her in good stead in Cleeland Ward.
“You can’t just show up in the election a couple of weeks before and hope to win.
“You have to show up in the community all the time.”
Greater Dandenong is regarded as a Labor stronghold. The current council make-up comprises a majority of eight Labor councillors out of 11.
Cr Long has been enmeshed in the “very strong” North Dandenong Labor branch.
In recent years, it has amalgamated with two other branches in the Dandenong state seat, as part of party reforms across Melbourne.
“North Dandenong was the biggest branch before we had to amalgamate.
“(The new branch) has got more than 100 members. A lot of people pay their funds and don’t attend branch meetings. We probably get 35-40 people there.”
Some of Labor’s South East branches were investigated as part of an IBAC branch-stacking enquiry Operation Watts in 2021 and 2022.
But Cr Long said there were rules to curb branch-stacking, such as new members waiting two years to gain voting rights and having to meet participation standards.
Labor has not lost as many members as the Liberal Party, she asserts. This was partly due to the ALP policy for equal numbers of male and female MPs.
It results in local women, well-known in the community, becoming MPs, she says.
Her highlights as a Labor member are whenever her party was elected into power.
“My saddest moment was when (former Premier) Daniel Andrews decided he was going to retire. I think he was a fantastic Premier.
“I know we went through a rough time in Covid but we’re alive. That’s the point – we’re alive.”
