Controversial Greens councillors take reins at troubled Yarra City Council

Two controversial Greens councillors have been elected to the two mayoral positions at troubled Yarra City Council after a spate of serious complaints.

Yarra councillors (from left): former mayors Claudia Nguyen and Sophie Wade with new Mayor Edward Crossland. Supplied: City of Yarra

Two controversial Greens councillors have been elected to the two mayoral positions at troubled City of Yarra council.

Edward Crossland was chosen as mayor while Anab Mohamud will be his deputy at the inner-city council for the next 12 months.

Cr Crossland, who will receive a $127,000 annual allowance for the top job, was the subject of serious complaints this year when residents alleged political coercion over planning issues.

The state’s regulator, the Local Government Inspectorate, later dropped the investigation even though the four residents who lodged complaints were never formally interviewed.

The case, which was revealed by the Herald Sun in June, had also been referred to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission before it was dismissed.

New City of Yarra mayor Cr Edward Crossland (left) with former mayor Sophie Wade.

The complaints follow an online meeting of Yarra council in December 2021 when a resident alleged Cr Crossland had called her earlier in the day urging her not to make submissions that night.

The woman claimed he said that any contribution by her on that night might affect a separate planning issue to which she had objected.

Three other similar, but separate, complaints were filed with the inspectorate only for the investigation to stall.

The allegations have never been substantiated and Cr Crossland did not respond to the Herald Sun’s questions about the claims.

Charges of assault and public drunkenness against Cr Mohamud were dropped last year following an altercation with a woman at a South Yarra nightclub in 2021.

Cr Mohamud later criticised police over its handling of the incident.

Yarra councillor Anab Mohamud.

Cr Mohamud after the altercation.

The Greens councillor, elected in 2020, was left with serious facial injuries and continued to serve on council while charges were pending.

The two Greens were elected at a meeting on Wednesday night and will hold the positions until the next statewide local elections in November next year.

Cr Mohamud will receive a $63,480 allowance for the deputy position.

Cr Crossland succeeds Claudia Nguyen as mayor.

Another former Yarra mayor Gabrielle de Vietri, who quit council to run and win the state seat of Richmond for the Greens, was thrown out of Parliament this week for taking a selfie in the chamber.

Ms de Vietri photographed herself and her three fellow Greens MPs with climate protesters who were in the public gallery.

In the run-up to the state election last year, the Herald Sun revealed that Ms De Vietri charged ratepayers for an in-house nanny while mayor during Melbourne’s lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

A total of $6961 was paid by ratepayers for 56 days of child care, including four weekend days.

The mayoral elections follow another controversial week for the Greens-leaning council.

The bungling council was under fire for spending about $2m on a Collingwood park makeover which was described as the saddest playground in Melbourne.