Local candidates unite for North and West Melbourne

Three independent teams competing in this month’s City of Melbourne elections have come together to call on the North and West Melbourne community to get behind their shared vision to establish true local representation on the next council. 

Voices for Melbourne’s candidate Mary Masters, Team Participate’s Asako Saito and Innovate Melbourne’s Andrew Rowse are all North and West Melbourne residents vying for election as councillors. 

While the media’s attention is often fixed on the Lord Mayoral contest in City of Melbourne elections, the three local candidates are reminding voters to “remember that the Lord Mayor relies on nine councillors to implement policies.”

Voters are required to participate in two separate electoral processes in the City of Melbourne; one is the  leadership ticket for Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor, while the other is the councillor ticket. 

The three local candidates say that that the councillor vote is “just as important as the mayoral vote", and they have joined forces to remind the community of its opportunity to elect “community-driven councillors who will fight for their neighbourhoods”. 

Ms Masters, who is the number one councillor candidate on the Voices for Melbourne team made up entirely of local residents from across the municipality, has urged voters not to throw their votes away on those who weren’t running for the right reasons.  

We live here, we work here, and we advocate daily for better community outcomes,” Ms Masters said. “We’re not running for political power or to serve financial backers – we’re running because we care deeply about the future of our neighbourhoods.

North Melbourne local Andrew Rowse who is running a councillor-only ticket Innovate Melbourne alongside friend Jesse Greenwood, said it was important to do everything possible to ensure the neighbourhood was represented by locals.  

“It’s rare to see this kind of unity across competing teams, but we know that what matters is putting people first. This isn’t about us – it’s about the future of our neighbourhoods.”

Fellow North Melbourne local Asako Saito, who is vying to become the first Japanese councillor ever elected to the City of Melbourne under the team Participate Melbourne, said the collaborative effort reflected a shared belief in working together. 

“Community participation is in our DNA,” Ms Saito said. 

“Living in North and West Melbourne means you see every day how advocacy and collaboration have shaped the places we call home. It’s our passion to continue that tradition and to fight for the best outcomes for our residents.” •