Greens preselect lead City of Melbourne councillor candidates

The Greens have preselected current councillor and Carlton resident Dr Olivia Ball as its lead candidate ahead of the City of Melbourne elections in October, with West Melbourne resident Karl Hessian revealed as its second candidate on the ballot.

With current sitting Greens Cr Rohan Leppert not recontesting for what would have been a fourth consecutive term on council, many had expected that Cr Dr Ball would be elevated to the number one position on the Greens ticket.

With the Greens having been historically successful in getting two councillors elected to the City of Melbourne, Cr Leppert’s departure has opened the door for a likely new face to join Cr Dr Ball in 2024.

That person is Karl Hessian – a resident of West Melbourne who works in IT in the early childhood education and care sector who hopes to translate his interest in local government and commitment to the community by winning a seat on council.

Cr Dr Ball told Docklands News that she was honoured to have been chosen to lead the party’s ticket and was looking forward to working with the rest of her team to “increase the Greens’ representation on council”.

“The role of city governments in this time of climate and biodiversity emergency, and an acute housing affordability crisis, is more important than ever,” Cr Dr Ball said. “Melbourne could be among the great sustainable cities of the world, so we are asking Melburnians to elect a Greener council in October.”

“Due to the youth and mobility of the inner city, this will be the first local election in which many people living in the City of Melbourne will be eligible to vote. My message to everyone is make sure you are enrolled at your current address now so you can have your say.”

The Greens will hold further preselections to determine its candidates for Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor, and other council seats in the months ahead, with preselections conducted by ballot of all members residing in the City of Melbourne.

Cr Dr Ball said she was pleased that the “outstanding” Mr Hessian would be joining her for the upcoming election campaign.

“I could not be more pleased that Karl has been chosen to join me on the Greens ticket in October,” she said.

He is a profoundly decent human being, broad-minded, capable, and hard-working, with an uncanny interest in local government and a passion for his community. I know he will make an outstanding councillor.

Karl Hessian will be well-known to many in the North and West Melbourne community for his decades of community action and leadership, including as chair of the board of the local neighbourhood house, chair of the committee of management of a community-run childcare centre, and his active engagement with the council on local issues.

“I am deeply honoured to have been chosen to fill the vacancy created by Olivia’s promotion to lead candidate. Both Rohan [Leppert] and former councillor Dr Cathy Oke have made extraordinary contributions to this city and have set a high bar for what electors can and should expect from their representatives,” Mr Hessian said. “If elected, I look forward to working with Olivia to connect the work of city government with local communities, that we may tackle the significant challenges facing the city together.”

“I have a deep understanding of how the City of Melbourne operates and I have the skills and experience to hit the ground running if elected.” •

Photography by Julian Meehan.