Jane Garrett approached to run for lord mayor of Melbourne

FORMER Andrews Government minister Jane Garrett says she is ‘certainly considering’ running for lord mayor of Melbourne after the resignation of Robert Doyle.

FORMER Andrews Government minister Jane Garrett has been approached to run for lord mayor of Melbourne after the resignation of Robert Doyle.

Ms Garrett said on 3AW radio this morning: “I’m certainly considering it.”

“It has to be a person of value, a person committed to the city and making it vibrant and safe,” she added.

“A person who has some runs on the board.

“It is going to be a tough job but it always is at the best of times.

“But I think that list of people and whoever else might come forward shows that we have a good raft of people.”

The political coup would see the state MP take on other high-profile candidates in a battle for town hall.

Some friends have urged the former minister to take on a fresh challenge, and one supporter said she would be an “outstanding candidate” because of respect she garnered from both sides of politics.

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Former Victorian Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett has been approached to run for lord mayor of Melbourne. Picture: David Caird

If the Brunswick MP was to quit state parliament, it would force the Andrews Government to fight a brutal by-election in a marginal seat at risk of falling to the Greens.

It would also leave Labor with 43 votes in the 88-seat Legislative Assembly, although it also has the support of disgraced independent and former ALP MP Don Nardella.

Ms Garrett has told Labor insiders she would not run for Brunswick at the next election, after failing to win preselection for an Upper House seat late last year.

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The 44-year-old said at the time that she made that decision, attacked by some colleagues, because she had “faced some significant challenges in recent times, including health issues”.

Last year, Ms Garrett returned to work after recovering from breast cancer surgery.

The previous year, she quit Cabinet after refusing to sign up to a new CFA workplace agreement.

Could Jane Garrett run for lord mayor of Melbourne? Picture: Mark Dadswell

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One supporter said the work she had done to try to bolster equal opportunity measures in the fire services would help her chances, while another pointed to her experience as Yarra mayor.

Mr Doyle stepped down as lord mayor after an investigation into accusations by former councillor Tessa Sullivan that he engaged in sexually inappropriate behaviour.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

While some in Labor hoped Ms Garrett would run again in Brunswick after candidate Ged Kearney was drafted to run in the federal seat of Batman, insiders say that won’t happen.

Jostling has now begun for preselection, with Labor factions arguing over potential candidates.

A long list of candidates is also being drawn up for the lord mayoral race, with early frontrunners Deputy Mayor Arron Wood and state Property Council boss Sally Capp.

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