Hi I'm Jess. I'm running for Darebin Council as a candidate with Victorian Socialists because I'm sick of living in a society where big business profits always come first and working-class people are put last. I've lived in Preston for the past five years and have come to love the area, but I've also seen how our community amenities and assets like the Preston Market are suffering from the long-term neglect of a system that values profits over people.
Councils are about much more than just 'rates, roads, and rubbish'. I believe the foundations for a decent life lie in our local communities, but we won't get the change we need while our local representatives just shrug their shoulders and claim that addressing issues like the housing and cost of living crises isn't their job.
We need representatives who will stand-up to the big business interests that dominate politics, and who will, where necessary, take the fight to the state and federal governments to ensure the best outcomes for Darebin residents. Councils might not have direct control over things like public housing provision or price gouging by supermarkets, but they could, if they were made up of people with some fight in them instead of the usual Greens and Labor party-hacks, be a powerful voice in the debate on these issues.
I've been a community organiser and activist for more than a decade, since studying at La Trobe university in the 2000s. I've been involved in campaigns for better access to education for working-class kids, and for action on climate change. In recent times I've been involved in the campaign to end Israel's genocide in Gaza. I believe councils should be a place where questions of social justice are raised and acted on.
If elected in October, I’ll fight for our community and for the better world that we need and deserve.