Anastasia Smietanka.
THE Yarra Greens have announced their five candidates who will run in the October election race for the City of Yarra.
Misha Coleman will run for Melba ward and will join serving councillors Amanda Stone in Langridge and Sam Gaylard in Nicholls as lead candidates.
The three will be joined by support candidates Anastasia Smietanka, who will run for Langridge ward, and Peter Ferguson, who will run for Nicholls ward.
The Greens’ current Melba ward councillor Alison Clarke did not seek preselection as a lead candidate, but may be called upon as a further support candidate.
The Yarra Greens candidates say they are aiming to lead a progressive council agenda for a more sustainable and liveable city and build on the work of the current councillors’ achievements, which include helping to develop the Yarra Energy Foundation, the Bicycle Strategy and the first urban agriculture guidelines in Victoria.
Ms Smietanka is a law graduate and has been a member of the Greens for four years.
The 23-year-old from Abbotsford said she wants to ensure there was a strong, progressive voice on the council. “I feel a lot of the progressiveness and the fantastic infrastructure and public services that exist in Yarra is because of the work of the current Greens councillors and I want to maintain that,” Ms Smietanka said.
Ms Smietanka said accessible public transport, safer bike lanes, the protection of local heritage and responsible and sustainable planning were among the policies she would be pushing.
A mother of two, Misha Coleman, 45, runs a non-profit-making aid organisation in Collingwood and has been a member of the Greens since 1995.
Mrs Coleman said she would be pushing for pro-business and pro-family policies.
“Councillor Alison Clarke has done a lot of work quite tirelessly and I would hope to fill her shoes and build on the work she has done,” Mrs Coleman said.
Peter Ferguson, an environmental politics university lecturer, is pushing to ensure that Yarra’s streets and public spaces are safe and facilitate active modes of transport and social interaction.