David Ross "Dave" Rugendyke (born 3 April 1953) is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly

The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory...

 elected to the multi-member of Ginninderra

Ginninderra electorate

The Ginninderra electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has five seats, and is the smallest of the electorates in geographic area.-History:...

 for the Osborne

Paul Osborne

Paul Osborne is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, administrator and politician. He played first-grade rugby league for the St George Dragons and Canberra Raiders before serving as a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 1995 until 2001...

 Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 Group. Rugendyke was elected on the Osborne Independents ticket at the 1998 general election

Australian Capital Territory general election, 1998

Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 21 February 1998. The incumbent Liberal Party, led by Kate Carnell, was challenged by the Labor Party, led by Wayne Berry. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...

 but sat as an independent in the Assembly. He sought re-election at the 2001 general election

Australian Capital Territory general election, 2001

Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 20 October 2001. The incumbent Liberal Party, led by Gary Humphries, was challenged by the Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope. candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...

 on his own ticket, but was unsuccessful.

Prior to Rugendyke entering politics, he was a police officer

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...

. Together with Osborne, Rugendyke entered politics on an anti-gay marriage, pro-life

Pro-life

Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

stance. However, on taking up his seat in the Assembly, Rugendyke claimed that his focus has always been on social justice and welfare and declared himself an Independent member.