Former police sergeant Jason Taylor was elected the Belco Party’s co-convenor at its last meeting.
“To be elected as co-convenor of the Belco Party is a huge honour, and a responsibility I am very much looking forward to,” Mr Taylor said.
Mr Taylor is the Belco Party’s candidate for Yerrabi.
“The Belco Party is evolving from its origins in June 2020, and it’s time other members, especially talented younger members like Jason, take on more responsibility,” founding convenor and now co-convenor Bill Stefaniak said. “Jason is our lead candidate in Yerrabi, and it makes sense to have a convenor in Yerrabi and one in Ginninderra.”
Mr Stefaniak recently announced that he would run as a candidate in Ginninderra.
Mr Taylor is the only candidate running for the Assembly elections who was almost killed defending his community, Mr Stefaniak said.
“Jason was a highly regarded Detective Sergeant in the AFP when his career was cut short after he was violently assaulted whilst attending an incident in Gungahlin,” Mr Stefaniak said. “He has been working incredibly hard within the community since he was announced as a candidate in October 2022. In my opinion, he will make a great local member for not just the people of Yerrabi, but for all Canberrans.”
“It’s fair to say that the last four years of my life have been incredibly difficult from a personal perspective, but I’m a person who has been driven by community service, and my involvement with the Belco Party and my candidacy for the upcoming Legislative Assembly election have given me an avenue to continue to serve my community,” Mr Taylor said.
Although the Belco Party will preference the Canberra Liberals at the election, Mr Taylor’s election disproves allegations that the party is simply a front for the Liberals, he argues.
“Whilst Bill and I are very much aligned on most issues that relate to local politics, we don’t agree on everything,” Mr Taylor said. “I was a member of the Australian Democrats for 10 years, and I’ve never voted for the Liberal Party.
“My election as co-convenor certainly dispels two myths about the Belco Party: we are not the ‘Bill Stefaniak Party’, and we are not ‘Shadow Liberals’.
“It’s important to note that the Belco Party is a political party, so voters will know what they are going to get from us, as our policies and voting positions are made as a collective. We weren’t formed with the purpose of getting a single column on the ballot paper. The ACT needs a strong and effective crossbench to ensure that the next Government actually does its job, and that is what the Belco Party will do.”
The Belco Party will announce its next two candidates, standing in Ginninderra and in Yerrabi, later this week.
“The candidate for Ginninderra is a fourth-generation Belconnen local-born, like fellow candidates Alan Tutt and me,” Mr Stefaniak said. “This, I believe, makes us the only party with all its candidates standing for election in a local electorate born and bred Canberrans.”
