By MELISSA MEEHAN
JAMES Merlino will represent the Monbulk electorate again, retaining the seat he has held since 2002.
Mr Merlino won what was expected to be a tight battle, with 66.3 per cent of the votes counted so far.
With the recent boundary redistribution, Mr Merlino was facing a battle, with the Liberals holding a 1.1 per cent margin in the lead-up to the election.
But the electorate saw a 6.5 per cent swing towards the Labor Party, with Liberal candidate Mark Verschuur only getting 44.6 per cent of the vote.
Greens candidate Mike Clarke also saw a 2.3 per cent swing against his party in Monbulk.
Mr Merlino cast his vote in his home town of Montrose on Saturday and thanked his supporters for their support.
On Monday, he told the Mail he was really happy with the result.
“I believe the closure of Swinburne Lilydale had a significant impact on the vote,” Mr Merlino said.
“It’s clearly been the biggest issue in my 12 years as a MP.”
He said he was looking forward to working with local schools and sporting clubs to deliver on election promises over the next few years.
“We’ve made committments to Swinburne Lilydale, Monbulk College, Monbulk Recreation Reserve, Belgrave South Recreation Reserve and Emerald College just to name a few,” he said.
“Looking forward on delivering on those committments locally and state wide in my capacity as Deputy Premier and Minister for Education.”
