Ron Delezio quits Liberal party to run as independent for Mike Baird’s former seat in Manly

THE father of double crash victim Sophie Delezio has quit the Liberal Party and will stand as an independent at the Manly by-election.

Manly by-election candidate Ron Delezio at Manly Ferry Wharf.

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THE  father of double crash victim Sophie Delezio has announced he will run as an independent at the Manly by-election.

Ron Delezio, 63, has twice run as a federal Liberal candidate in Sydney seats, but said his disillusion with factional warfare led him to quit the party last month.

Instead, he hopes to ensure an integrated solution to traffic congestion is brought to the table, to bring in harsher laws for driving offenders and revoke bail for serious sexual and physical offences.

Sophie Delezio was left fighting for life after a car crashed in to the Roundhouse Childcare Centre in Balgowlah in 2003. Picture: Martin Lange.

And the charity founder believes he can have a Pauline Hanson-like rise to power on the beaches.

“You have seen it in the Senate, we have become independent, we have got Hanson becoming stronger and stronger,” Mr Delezio said.

“I think people are starting to realise if they get a good independent, if they can pick a person they can trust, that independent has got the ability to stand up to the big parties and push for what the people believe in.”

Mr Delezio and his family Mitchell, Sophie, and Carolyn, pictured competing in the Balmoral Burn race. Picture: Braden Fastier.

The father of two from ­Balgowlah Heights has vowed to stop promising a Beaches Link tunnel and actually get it built.

“We have been promised this for the last 25 years. We have had the perfect opportunity by having a prime minster and a premier in the same electorate and we have got nothing,” he said.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott. Picture: Kym Smith.

Former Premier Mike Baird. Picture: Annika Enderborg.

He said his plan would also be to remove T3 lanes replacing them with T2 in the lead-up to the bridge.

The founder of charity Day of Difference, who most recently has worked for the Classification Board said an independent could get things done for the electorate.

Manly by-election candidate Ron Delezio in the Manly Corso. Picture: Virginia Young.

“If we get another Liberal Party member winning the by-election, that person is going to be saying ‘yes sir, no sir’ whereas an independent can hold a government to account and say this is what the people want,” he said.

“It is the same as I fought for my daughter, the same as I fight for other families in hospital when they are going through a hard time. You just need the guts to do it.”

Other issues he pointed to were the retention of Manly Hospital for community use, and a need to address overcrowding in schools.

Mr Delezio said he would also argue for a tougher stance on repeat driving offenders, by pushing for a three-strikes policy before the culprit serves jail time.

Another policy would make the minimum sentence unmovable regardless of good behaviour or police co-operation if a serious physical or sexual assault was committed.

For more information on Ron Delezio’s campaign, or to get involved, call 0451 183 624.