1988 Dale state by-election

January 2017 January 2017 A by-election for the seat of Dale in the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia was held on 7 May 1988. It was triggered by the resignation of Cyril Rushton (the sitting Liberal member and a former deputy premier) on 25 February 1988. The seat was retained by the Liberal Party, with their candidate, Fred Tubby, winning 59.1 percent of the two-candidate-preferred (2CP) vote. The Labor Party did not stand at the election, despite having lost the seat by less than 400 votes at the 1986 state election. A former Labor candidate, Michael Marsh, won 40.9 percent of the 2CP vote standing as an independent. Background Cyril Rushton had held Dale for the Liberal Party since a 1965 by-election, and served as a minister in the governments of Sir Charles Court and Ray O'Connor (including as deputy premier under the latter). Rushton underwent open-heart surgery in August 1987, and missed much of the following parliamentary session.Edgar Cyril Rushton – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2017. He resigned from parliament on 25 February 1988, and the writ for the by-election was issued on 30 March, with the close of nominations on 14 April. Polling day was on 7 May, with the writ returned on 12 May.Black David Prescott, Valerie Election statistics, Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996 1997 79 Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission Perth, Western Australia 0-7309-8409-5 Results Dale state by-election, 1988 Liberal WA Fred Tubby 5,323 53.2 +3.3 Independent Michael Marsh 2,561 25.6 +25.6 Democrats Mark Beadle 918 9.2 +6.6 Independent Alexander Coffey 639 6.4 +6.4 OAM Willem Schultink 438 4.4 +4.4 Independent Maralyn Yorston 124 1.2 +1.2 10,003 95.5 –1.9 469 4.5 +1.9 10,472 79.0 –13.9 Liberal WA Fred Tubby 5,913 59.1 N/A Independent Michael Marsh 4,090 40.9 +40.9 Liberal WA N/A Aftermath Tubby joined his father, Reg Tubby, in parliament, and the pair served together until Reg's retirement at the 1989 state election (a period of less than a year). The seat of Dale was abolished in a redistribution prior to that same election, and Fred Tubby switched to the new seat of Roleystone, which he held until his defeat at the 2001 state election.Frederick Charles, Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2017. See also List of Western Australian state by-elections References Category:Western Australian state by-elections Dale state by-election Dale state by-election Dale state by-election, 1988