Liberal Party to endorse Melbourne lord mayor for first time in history

The Liberal Party will endorse a candidate to run for Melbourne lord mayor for the first time in history — but the party is remaining tight-lipped about its mayoral candidates.

The Liberal Party has decided to enter the mayoral race. Picture: Mark Stewart

The Liberal Party will endorse a candidate to run for lord mayor in the October local council election for the first time in the party’s history.

The Sunday Herald Sun understands that the party is in the “final stages” of resolving their leadership ticket, including the candidate for deputy lord mayor.

Senior Liberal sources said leadership had debated whether to enter the mayoral race for several months, but recently finalised its decision.

Over the past two decades, several Liberal Party members have run for the city’s top job – including disgraced former lord mayor Robert Doyle and former councillor Ken Ong – but none have ever had the endorsement of the party.

Councillor Roshena Campbell on the campaign trail with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton when she ran for the Liberals in the Aston by-election. Picture: Luis Ascui

Multiple sources said former federal Liberal candidate Owen Guest – the son of former longtime Victorian MP James Guest – was expected to run on the party’s ticket for a councillor position.

Former Chisholm MP Gladys Liu’s name was also floated as a potential candidate.

It is unclear whether current councillor Roshena Campbell, who ran for the Liberals in the Aston by-election, would nominate for the party’s ticket.

One source said the Liberals had decided it was time to enter the field after years of “political control” by Labor and the Greens at a local council level.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece will run for the top job in October. Picture: David Caird

Another source said the party had long debated over the endorsement of local government candidates, but that resources would be better used finding and endorsing candidates for the next state election.

“Keen beans like Mr Guest and friends would be better advised to devote their evidently copious amounts of spare time and money to working with the rest of us to address the abysmal electoral performance of the Victorian party over decades at state and federal elections — ie the ones that decide government,” he said.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece, who stepped into the top job after Sally Capp’s resignation, announced earlier this month that he will run for lord mayor in October after spending four years as her loyal deputy.

He joins pollster Gary Morgan and Labor’s Phil Reed in the mayoral race, while former deputy mayor Arron Wood is all but certain to run.