In this blog series, we ask our alums to tell us about their personal ‘pathway to politics’ and provide their recommendations for content that will help support, guide, inspire and engage other women on their political journey.

In March we spotlight alums running in the New South Wales State election.

Angela Maguire, Independent candidate for Hawkesbury

I applied for the Pathways to Politics Program for Women and was accepted in 2022. I had thought about running for political office over a number of years. Bearing witness to the shift in voter behaviour and the opportunity for something different to happen in ‘safe’ Liberal Party held seats in the federal election, I decided to have a go.

The date of the state election worked in well with my business and family commitments. There can be resistance or hesitation not to run if you can’t dedicate six months full-time to a campaign, but perfection can be the enemy of the good and no one else in my electorate put themselves forward as a community, unaligned independent candidate.

To get my head around the financial, emotional and opportunity costs involved in running, I am taking a medium-term view about my aspirations and how I can help other community focused independents in my community and building a database and infrastructure that can be used again in the future.

Having people reach out – some of whom I hardly know – to offer their personal support for my campaign validates my decision to run every day.

My recommendations

‘Empowered Communities: Next Steps’ Convention 2022

Attending the Community Independents conference and speaking to and listening to so many engaged and excited people was inspiring.

Read more about the Community Independents Project and their upcoming events

No Fibs Podcast

This particular episode really got me over the line: How North Sydney’s Independent plans a second #IndependentsDay boilover in Lane Cove at #NSWVotes. ‘Tending to the democracy garden’.

Listen online

My Pathways to Politics Whatsapp group

You can’t join, sorry! This group with my fellow graduands has been an immense source of support and hope. We are from all parts of the political spectrum but are genuinely there to congratulate everyone’s foray into the political wilderness.