THE SYSTEM CAN’T STOP US: VIC GREENS WIN BIG ON COUNCIL

By Vic Greens Campaign Team

The final count is in - we have elected 28 brilliant, diverse and hard-working councillors across Victoria!

We now have 14 Greens councillors in the inner-city, and for the first time we’ve elected Greens in Frankston (Emily Green), Bass Coast (Mat Morgan) and Campaspe regional council (Zoe Cook). You can read more about the amazing people we’ve elected here.

This impressive result has come despite Labor’s attempts to shut us out by gerrymandering the structure of councils across Victoria; manipulating electoral boundaries in favour by imposing single-member wards.

In many places the Greens have lost candidates despite a surge in our vote - like Stonnington, where our vote doubled, or Ballarat and Glen Eira, where it rose by 10%+. Overall, our vote across the state rose 6%.

Against these odds, we’ve proven that our movement is unstoppable. We’ve just elected a new generation of leaders willing to push councils to do more for our communities, for the vulnerable, and to protect our precious environment.

Our hopeful politics is resonating with more people than ever before. And if these results carry into the Federal election, we will win new lower house seats. We’re grateful for everyone’s support and urge you to keep an eye on local government, where Greens across Victoria are ready to push for progressive, hopeful change. 

Here’s one of our first-time councillors, Isabella Do, with her story getting elected to council:

I’m Isabella Do, I'm 27 and I’ve recently been elected to Keysborough South Ward in Greater Dandenong for the Greens. We moderated our expectations and so it feels absolutely unreal that we had performed so well - I was elected, as a first time candidate, with 47% of the vote, after expecting only 27%! I’m ready to do the best I can for our community.

In nearby Cleeland ward, Greens incumbent candidate Rhonda Garad is ahead but remains too close to call. With Rhonda on council, we'll be a part of the first council term in Greater Dandenong with more than one Greens councillor at the same time. 

I'm a proud first-time candidate - if you've ever thought about running with the Greens, I've probably been in your shoes! If you can, start your campaign early - preselect early and get planning early. Focus on really understanding your community and don’t try to make yourself appeal to everyone because you’ll appeal to no one. Having a really good campaign team and strong support from the previous incumbents was crucial.

Being familiar with our community meant that we also ran a very low brand campaign with targeted promises for the ward (i.e. fix this particular bike path). This allowed us to connect better to our voters who had aligned values to us but didn’t necessarily consider themselves a Greens voter.

Where I live, many residents don’t feel heard and I would love to encourage civic engagement and give residents the opportunity to be more involved. One of my biggest priorities is to ensure the Keysborough South Community Hub is a success, while ensuring all residents have access to services as the suburb densifies and sustainable, proper planning gets the attention it deserves. 

I wish all other Greens council candidates congratulations on a stellar campaign across Victoria, with 124 candidates keeping our movement strong!

In solidarity,
Isabella Do
Greens councillor-elect for Keysborough South Ward, Greater Dandenong City Council