Labor has endorsed Hunter radio personality Meryl Swanson as its candidate to take on Paterson MP Bob Baldwin in this year’s federal election.
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Ms Swanson beat other pre-selection candidate Peter Kafer 84 votes to nine on the weekend to record an overwhelming endorsement.
It means there are now three candidates registered for Paterson, which includes Maitland.
Aside from Ms Swanson and Mr Baldwin, Greens representative John Brown will also contest the seat.
Ms Swanson,of Buchanan, is a former staffer for Labor’s Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon.
In a statement released on Saturday, she thanked party members for the endorsement.
“I thank Peter Kafer for his work for the Labor Party and look forward to continuing to work with him,” she said.
“Our region can not afford three more years of this dysfunctional, directionless Liberal government.
“The current member for Paterson does not provide effective representation for anyone but himself.
“The Labor Party is election ready, and unlike the Abbott/Turnbull Government, we will be putting people first.”
