Dawn Fardell is poised to become the western area's first Member of Parliament after an emphatic win in Saturday's by-election for the State seat of Dubbo.
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Dubbo's deputy mayor rebuffed a bid by local businesswoman Jen Cowley to win back a seat The Nationals lost to Independent MP Tony McGrane in 1999.
Mrs Fardell's campaign team called the result 45 minutes after the polls closed and Premier Bob Carr wasn't far behind with a phone call to congratulate Parliament's newest MP.
"He wanted to know how I pulled it off and how we achieved such a strong result," Mrs Fardell said.
"I told him it came down to listening to the community and having a real sense of how the people are feeling, whether the news is good or bad.
"Dubbo wants someone who listens to the people, not a party."
At the close of counting on Saturday night Mrs Fardell had an absolute majority of more than 50 per cent of the primary votes. Mrs Cowley had nearly 43 per cent of the vote.
After the notional distribution of preferences Mrs Fardell will hold a winning margin of about 9 per cent – slightly less than that enjoyed by Mr McGrane after the 2003 general election.
"It was most pleasing to get over the line based on primary votes alone and not having to rely on preferences for the win," Mrs Fardell said.
"The first results we received were from the little area of Gollan, where I did a lot of work with the Road 353 Committee.
"At Gollan we polled about 50 per cent, so that was an early indication of the result."
Mrs Fardell won 27 of the 37 booths around the electorate including the Nationals strongholds of Trundle and Tullamore. In Parkes, Mrs Fardell won about 60 per cent of the vote.
Mrs Cowley, as expected, was a gracious loser: "I congratulate Dawn on her win and I wish her all the best in her role as Member for Dubbo.
"I hope we can work together in the future because I'm keen to work with anybody with a vision for our electorate."
"My passion for Dubbo and the region is undiminished and I'll continue to get out there and be involved.
"I am disappointed, but more so for all my supporters and the people who worked so hard on the campaign.
"It was always going to be a hard job, I realised that, but I enjoyed it immensely."
Mrs Fardell returned the compliment: "It was very nice of Jen to call and offer her congratulations. While the result is disappointing for her, I encouraged her to stick with it and stay involved in the community.
"We need as many people who have the best interests of the community to keep working at it."
Mrs Fardell will take a little time before deciding whether to continue her role as a city councillor.
"I'm the best judge of that, so while many people have their own opinions, I'll make that decision.
"I will be the first to admit if I can't cope, but I'm a very capable person and I know my abilities and my limitations.
"If I remain on council, then there will still be fair and equal consideration given to the entire electorate, not just Dubbo," she said.