Lara Dalton (born 23 May 1970)[1] is an Australian politician. She is a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, representing Geraldton since the 2021 state election.[2]

Lara Dalton
Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
for Geraldton
Assumed office
13 March 2021
Preceded byIan Blayney
Personal details
Born (1970-05-23) 23 May 1970 (age 54)
Geraldton, Western Australia
Political partyLabor
Websitewww.laradalton.com.au

Prior to entering politics, Dalton worked at the Geraldton campus of Central Regional TAFE, operated her own cafe, the Salt Dish Cafe, for five years, and then returned to TAFE as a hospitality lecturer. She was the Labor candidate for Geraldton at the 2017 state election. She was defeated by Ian Blayney, but reduced his margin to just 1.3%,[3] recording a swing of 21.5%.[4][5][6] She had actually led the field on the first count, but WA National and One Nation preferences proved too much for her to overcome.

Dalton was elected to the Legislative Assembly on her second attempt at the 2021 election, receiving 61.71% of the two-party preferred vote and comfortably defeating Blayney amidst a statewide Labor landslide. She actually won 54.7 percent of the primary vote, enough to win the seat on the first count. Her victory made her the first woman to represent Geraldton in its 131-year history.[5][7] Dalton received mentoring during her election campaign from Victorian politician, Candy Broad, through EMILY's List Australia.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Ms Lara Dalton MLA". Parliament of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  2. ^ Campbell, Kate; Van Aken, Elise; Vivian, Geoff; Pin, Phoebe (13 March 2021). "Geraldton painted red: It's a Lara and Labor landslide". Geraldton Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  3. ^ Harradine, Natasha (14 February 2021). "Geraldton a seat to watch in 'fascinating contest' as WA election draws closer". ABC News. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  4. ^ "WA Election – Electorate: Geraldton". ABC News. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Geraldton". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  6. ^ "WA Election: Lara Dalton claims an emphatic victory in Geraldton amid Labor landslide". Geraldton Guardian. 14 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  7. ^ "State election 2021: Labor's Lara Dalton becomes first Geraldton MP in 131 years". 13 March 2021. The West Australian. 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  8. ^ "2021 Western Australia Election Candidates". EMILY's List Australia. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Geraldton
2021–present
Incumbent