All six sitting members of the ACT Greens have put their hands up to seek re-election for the party at the next Legislative Assembly election.
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Party leader Shane Rattenbury and Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti have nominated for party preselection to be lead candidates in the inner Canberra seat of Kurrajong.
James Cruz, a former ACT Greens Senate candidate, has also nominated for a lead candidate position.
Mr Rattenbury has sat in the Legislative Assembly since 2008 and will also face a party-wide leadership vote after the party preselects its candidates for the October 2024 election.
An internal party assessment of the candidates said Mr Rattenbury had "expressed his personal commitment to continuing to represent the Greens and helping to build the capacity of the next generation of leaders".
The internal assessment also said Mental Health Minister Emma Davidson, the party's incumbent member for Murrumbidgee, had served as a minister in challenging portfolios "and is conscious that mistakes have been made during the very steep learning curve she faced".
"Emma is a polished performer who is running again 'because it needs to be done'," the report, seen by The Canberra Times, said.
A review of Ms Davidson's office found inexperience, a lack of quality leadership and workplace conflict contributed to a high rate of staff quitting soon after Ms Davidson was elected.
Earlier this year Ms Davidson told party members she welcomed the recommendations and her office was now a "supportive and happy workplace".
Harini Rangarajan, a university student, and Denby Angus, who participated in the Franklin River blockade in 1983, will also seek to be nominated as lead candidates in Murrumbidgee
Andrew Braddock, the current member, is among four party candidates seeking the two lead candidate positions in the northern seat of Yerrabi.
"He is running again because 'there is so much still to do', with a particular focus on transport," the internal party candidate assessment said.
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Mr Braddock will face Soelily Consen-Lynch, a lawyer and policy officer; Natasa Sojic, an environmental scientist; and James Higgins, a former party candidate and ex-staffer for Queensland Greens senator Larissa Waters.
Jo Clay will seek lead candidate status in Ginninderra, along with Tim Liersch, a former party candidate and current Greens Assembly staffer; Adele Sinclair, a former ACT Greens party director; and John Boyd, an industrial designer.
The lead candidate positions will not be contested in Brindabella, where the incumbent, Johnathan Davis, looks set be joined on the ticket by Sam Nugent, a counsellor and mental health advocate.
The 2020 ACT election delivered the ACT Greens six seats in the 25-member Assembly, the highest number the party has ever held.
ACT Greens convenor Michael Brewer has previously said the Greens were the most democratic political party in the ACT.
"In the other parties, the power plays and lack of transparency in their preselection and leadership decisions flows through to the way they govern," Mr Brewer said.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
