Greens to run candidates for all four Newcastle council wards in September 4 local government election

At a launch in Newcastle East on Friday, the party unveiled the three candidates that will contest the September 4 election alongside Cr Mackenzie, who will vie for a second term in Ward 1.

They include Charlotte McCabe, a school teacher from Tighes Hill who will contest Ward 2; Sinead Francis-Coan, a born-and-bred Novocastrian contesting Ward 3; and Thomas Levick, a university tutor who hopes to be elected in Ward 4.

Ms McCabe, 44, stood for the seat of Newcastle in the 2019 state election, which Ms Francis-Coan, 36, also contested as the party's candidate for the seat of Wallsend.

Mr Levick, 27, was a candidate at the last Newcastle council election in 2017.

"Newcastle has a proud history of continual Greens' representation on council for almost 30 years, and past Greens councillors have led the way in achieving appropriate urban development, heritage preservation and the protection of environment," Cr Mackenzie said.

"Greens councillors have been a major contributor to the liveable and sustainable neighbourhoods and communities we enjoy in Newcastle today."

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The party will campaign on making Newcastle a carbon neutral city by 2030; a 20-minute city plan for improving liveability, transport, services and infrastructure in the suburbs; urban greening; addressing housing affordability; and community engagement.

Cr Mackenzie said the incoming council needed to "abandon the current announce and defend approach" to public consultation.

"Improving transparency and engaging in a meaningful way with residents, before decisions are made, is key to building trust and making decisions that benefit our community," he said.

Mr Levick, who grew up in Dungog and is completing a PHD focussed on Aboriginal co-operatives, hopes to join council to help "shed the politicisation of a lot of issues".

"It seems like there is a lot of announceables," he said. "Nothing ever occurs ... it's just the picture, the aesthetic.

"I'm just sick of seeing that type of thing and it's one thing to be able to sledge from the side, but it's another to say 'yeah, I'll have a go'."

Ms Francis-Coan said she was raised in Jesmond, had completed bachelor and masters studies in tourism and worked in wine sales.

"I want to be a strong voice for the Newcastle that doesn't fall within the CBD and the vibrant diversity in the community," she said.

Ms McCabe, a mother of two who has lived in the city for a decade, said she wanted to be "on the other side" after spending years tyring to "influence politics" as an environment campaigner.

"I've been involved in a whole lot of different environment campaigns over the last 20 years or so and I feel like I've always been trying to convince our three levels of democracy to implement the policies that I think we need, and now I want to give it a shot to actually be inside [government] and be somebody who represents my community," she said.

"I think that local communities really do have the solutions to their own issues, and when democracy works well it works well for everyone."

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