Adviser to Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Anthony Spagnolo, set to replace Mike Nahan as Liberal candidate in Riverton seat

An adviser to Finance Minister Mathias Cormann is set to replace the retiring former party leader Mike Nahan as the Liberal candidate in Riverton at next year’s State election. Party delegates today picked Anthony Spagnolo, who is also vice-president of the WA Liberals, ahead of former Perth Wildcats boss Nick Marvin and real estate agent Natasha Cheung. His pre-selection means the Liberals have only chosen one female candidate — Nicole Robins in Bicton — in the eight Lower House vacancies filled so far. Mr Marvin said his step into State politics had been a “good learning experience” but he was unlikely to run for any seat other than Riverton in the future. Mr Nahan was replaced by Liza Harvey as Opposition leader last year and later announced he was quitting politics. The West revealed in June his leadership was under threat, a claim he denied before quitting the next day. The Liberals hold Riverton with a margin of just under four per cent after the electoral boundary redistribution and are hoping to increase that buffer at the March 2021 poll. Ms Robins, a City of Melville councillor, was recommended by delegates to contest the marginal Labor-held seat of Bicton. The pre-selection of Mr Spagnolo and Ms Robins still needs to be ratified by the party’s State council. On Tuesday, pre-selectors in Burns Beach will confirm evangelical pastor Trish Botha as its candidate after former West Perth Football Club chairman Brett Raponi withdrew his nomination. Burns Beach is an ALP seat held by a margin of about 5.7 per cent. Ryan Chorley, a partner at law firm Jackson McDonald, will replace the retiring John McGrath in the blue-ribbon seat of South Perth. State council also ratified their candidates for a swag of marginal Labor-held electorates at the top of the Liberal target seat list. This included Rio Tinto lawyer Scott Edwardes, son of former MP Cheryl Edwardes, in Kingsley, as well as real estate agent Sheldon Ingham (Joondalup), former Young Liberals president Liam Staltari (Kalamunda) and King’s Chapel executive minister Mihael McCoy (Jandakot). Rob Dines is the party’s candidate in Geraldton. Three veteran Liberal MPs — Michael Mischin, Jim Chown and Simon O’Brien — also had the ends of their careers confirmed by State council.