Fierce local advocate Mary Masters to run for City of Melbourne

West Melbourne resident Mary Masters is running as the one and only councillor candidate on the Voices for Melbourne team – an independent campaign for the City of Melbourne driven by a group of passionate locals. 

Ms Masters will be no stranger to readers of this masthead, with the local mother of two and passionate community activist being central to many grassroots campaigns, namely relating to safety and planning issues surrounding local schools. 

As reported in the July edition of North West City News, Ms Masters played an integral role in successfully lobbying the state government to reduce the speed limit along Curzon St between North Melbourne Primary School’s two campuses. 

She has also been a leading voice advocating for new secondary schools in Docklands and the Arden Precinct, as well as for safety upgrades surrounding Docklands Primary School. 

Ms Masters will run in next month’s City of Melbourne elections alongside Voices for Melbourne’s candidate for Lord Mayor Greg Bisinella – another local champion who will be well known to readers of sibling publication Inner City News. 

As the now former president of the East Melbourne Group, Mr Bisinella is a long-term resident and business owner with deep roots in the community, boasting a successful track record in heritage protection and improving liveability. 

Running alongside Mr Bisinella as the team’s candidate for Deputy Lord Mayor is Megan Stevenson, a seasoned advocate from Carlton with more than 30 years of experience in media production and community leadership.

Should Voices for Melbourne receive enough support from the local community and favourable preferences from other teams, Ms Masters holds a high chance of becoming elected as a councillor. 

Speaking with North West City News, she said she was running as part of the Voices for Melbourne team because she believed in community advocacy and activism – “that’s how we get things done”. 

“I work with the community in trying to get better outcomes,” Ms Masters said. 

“So much of my time is spent advocating to the council, and it’s better that we have someone who’s representing residents, truly representing residents,” adding that the community deserved a “council that listens, acts with integrity, and genuinely represents the people who live and work in this city,” Ms Masters said.

“Together, we can build a council that truly reflects the voices of Melbourne.” 

Mr Bisinella said Voices for Melbourne was committed to a progressive agenda that addressed the need for transparency, integrity and reform at the council, with a focus on key economic, social and environmental opportunities for the municipality. 

The team will release its full list of policies in the weeks leading up to the election, which will focus on a range of issues from revitalising the CBD and supporting local businesses, to creating more green spaces and advocating for electoral reform. 

“This election needs a circuit breaker, and we want to see new blood introduced into the council chamber: we want Voices for Melbourne,” Mr Bisinella said. “We need a strong council of doers, not those who ran the city in the past and now want us to trust them to fix their problems.”

“Our policies will not be headline-grabbing but will be based on our experience, expertise, and understanding of what makes the city tick into the future.”

“We are frustrated like many of our resident and local-business colleagues at the pace and nature of the change, and we are going in the wrong direction.”

Megan Stevenson said the city deserved leadership that listened and acted in the best interests of residents and businesses. 

“We are committed to building a council that truly represents the people of Melbourne, one that is transparent, accountable, and driven by the needs of the community.” •