By Royce Millar
THE McGuire name has featured in the holiday doodlings of ALP factional heavies as they ponder preselection for the plum seat of Broadmeadows vacated by former premier John Brumby.
But not Eddie ''Everywhere'' McGuire, Channel 9 heavyweight and Collingwood Football Club president. It is his older brother and fellow former ''Broady boy'', Frank.
Burhan YigitCredit: Jason South
Senior party insiders have confirmed that the former reporter has been discussed as a possible candidate among the Labor Right faction led by federal ministers Bill Shorten and Stephen Conroy.
Reeling from the collapse of its primary vote in last year's federal and state polls, and from criticism it has lost touch with its base, Labor will now prize local credentials in coming preselection battles - including the one triggered by Mr Brumby's exit.
Frank McGuireCredit: Ken Irwin
But even Frank McGuire's strong ties to the electorate may not be enough to win over powerbrokers who have vowed to stop the ''parachuting'' of celebrity candidates into safe seats.
''They are more on the nose now than they've ever been,'' said one senior party figure of big-name outsiders with little grassroots experience in the ALP.
Mr McGuire, who remains active in Melbourne's north-west despite now living outside it, is not a party member. His most obvious formal political connection was as a chief strategist to the Australian Democrats in 2001. He would not comment on a possible career representing his childhood home in State Parliament.
Labor's focus on its roots is also working against state secretary and former Brumby staff member Nick Reece, believed to be the ex-premier's choice as successor. Mr Reece, who lives in Clifton Hill and whose term as secretary ends next month, would not comment.
Not surprisingly, genuinely local aspirants want to make hay while the political sun shines on a patch of Labor territory long seen as a safe seat for frontbenchers such as Brumby and his predecessor, the late Jim Kennan, both preoccupied with statewide matters.
Two Meadow Heights residents from opposing Right factions are among the hopefuls.
Hume councillor Burhan Yigit for the first time publicly confirmed his tilt for the Labor heartland seat. ''Yes, my hat is in the ring,'' said the former Hume mayor, who belongs to the right group based on the National Union of Workers and Shop Assistants Union.
Mr Yigit has been linked to the area since arriving from Turkey as a nine-year-old in 1970.
''When I speak to people in Broadmeadows, they say, 'We've done our bit for the state. Now we need a local to carry our voice','' he told The Age.
Among the contenders from the opposing Shorten-Conroy group is faction convener Mehmet Tillem. Mr Tillem would not comment.
Former MP Nathan Murphy, who lost his Northern Metro upper house seat in November after taking over from Theo Theophanous in March, is another possible starter for the Shorten group.
Former Bracks adviser turned lobbyist Danny Pearson is also seeking the group's endorsement. ''I would welcome the opportunity to participate in a process, but it is early days,'' he told The Age. Like Mr Reece, however, Mr Pearson seems unlikely to win enough factional support in the current climate of localism.
Senior ALP sources have stressed that formal negotiations are yet to start over Broadmeadows; other names may yet emerge as contenders.
Labor enjoys a margin of 21 per cent in Broadmeadows despite a swing of 10.9 per cent against it at the November election. While it should retain the seat, the party is worried a poll-fatigued electorate may punish it further at a byelection, as Burwood voters did when Jeff Kennett retired following his 1999 election defeat. A nasty preselection brawl would not help Labor retain votes in Broadmeadows.
The date of the byelection is yet to be decided by the Legislative Assembly Speaker. But party sources expect a Saturday in February as the date for the first electoral test under new leader Daniel Andrews.