Meet the Whitehorse councillor and government economist endorsed to run as independents in the state election

Independent campaign group Voices of Deakin has officially entered the race for Melbourne's east in November’s state election, endorsing Whitehorse councillor Prue Cutts in Ringwood and economist David Vanderwolf in Croydon.

Voices of Deakin announced the candidates at the Heatherdale Bowls Club on Sunday July 26, with about 75 people attending, including Whitehorse and Maroondah councillors and local residents.

🎤 The councillor’s campaign: Cutts has been a Whitehorse councillor since 2016, including two terms as deputy mayor.

• She told the Eastern Melburnian she believed she offered voters a "genuine alternative" to the major parties at a time when many people felt "quite disaffected".

• “I make my vote on the basis of what I believe is a good outcome,” she said.

• Cutts said she would aim to deliver solutions to a broad range of challenges, including the cost of living, housing affordability, healthcare, education and community safety.

💰 Acting with experience: South Croydon resident Vanderwolf has spent the past 14 years working as an economist in the public sector, focusing on the relations between state and federal governments.

• He said he believed independent candidates can give communities a stronger voice amid growing frustration with major-party politics.

• "We're frustrated and we want change, but we don't see that as the answer," he said. "My community is my party room.”

• Vanderwolf said his main goals would be tackling the cost of living, protecting local green spaces and boosting funding for education.

☝️ Free-for-all: Croydon has been held by the Liberals since it was created in 2014, with David Hodgett winning the seat with 59.29 percent of the two-candidate-preferred vote in 2014, with his margin falling to 51.37 per cent in 2022. He announced last August he would not seek re-election.

• Vanderwolf’s competition so far includes Labor's Richard Farr, Liberal candidate Grant Hutchinson, the Greens' Lini Fernando and Victorian Socialists candidate Beth Grimshaw. More candidates, including a likely One Nation contender, may be announced in the coming months.

• None of these nominees have run in an electoral race to date.

🪑 Independently held: Ringwood has been held by Labor since 2018. However, incumbent MP Will Fowles resigned from Labor in 2023 following allegations of sexual assault and now sits as an independent. Victoria Police arrested and interviewed Fowles, before releasing him without charges. Fowles has consistently denied the allegations.

• Fowles is yet to announce if he will recontest the seat. 

• Other declared candidates include Labor's Rachel Halse – who is looking to reclaim it for Labor, Liberal North-Eastern Metropolitan MLC Nick McGowan, the Greens' Amy Mills and Victorian Socialists candidate Jack Gardiner.

• Nick McGowan secured the fourth seat in the North-Eastern Metropolitan region, despite receiving 0.32 percent of first preference votes.

• Amy Mills stood for the Greens in the seat of Deakin in the 2025 Federal election, obtaining 11.9 percent of first preference votes.