Jennifer Alden (born 1975) is an Australian former politician and health broker who served as Mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo from 2020 to 2021 and as a councillor from 2016 to 2024. She served as Deputy Mayor twice.

Political career

In 1995, Alden co-founded the

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

branch of the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

. In the

2006 Victorian State Election The 2006 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 25 November 2006, was for the 56th Parliament of Victoria. Just over 3 million Victoria (state), Victorians registered to vote elected 88 members to the Legislative Assembly of Victoria, Legi ...

, Alden ran as the

Victorian Greens The Victorian Greens, officially known as the Australian Greens Victoria, is the Victoria (state), Victorian state member party of the Australian Greens, a Green politics, green political party in Australia. History Early years The Australian ...

lead candidate for the

Northern Victoria Region Northern Victoria Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was created i ...

, although she failed to be elected. In the

2014 Victorian state election The 2014 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 29 November 2014, was for the 58th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly and 40 seats in the Victorian Legislative Council were up for election. The incum ...

, Alden unsuccessfully contested the division of

Bendigo East Bendigo East is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It covers an area of covering the part of the city of Bendigo east of the Yungera railway line and surrounding rural areas to the north, ...

. In the

2016 Australian Federal Election The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday, 2 July 2016, to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign p ...

, she was listed as the eighth candidate on the Greens' Senate ticket for Victoria. Alden was first elected to the

City of Greater Bendigo The City of Greater Bendigo is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in August 2021, had a population of 121,470. It includes the city of Bendigo and the towns of A ...

Council in the 2016 election, where she received 8.86% of the primary vote in the Lockwood Ward. In 2017, she was elected as Deputy Mayor of Bendigo, serving under mayor Margaret O'Rourke until 2018. Alden was re-elected in the 2020 election with 18.23% and was subsequently elected by the council to the position of mayor, with

Andrea Metcalf Andrea Metcalf is an Australian politician who has served as the List of mayors of Bendigo, mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo since 2021 and as a councillor since 2016. Early life and career Before her election to the council, Metcalf worke ...

serving as Deputy Mayor. During her one-year term as Mayor, she worked to address the challenges posed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2022, she was elected as Deputy Mayor for a second time, serving until 2023. Alden did not contest the 2024 election, citing in part the changes to the ward system under the ''

Local Government Act 2020 The Local Government Act 2020 was a significant statute in Victoria, Australia, notable for its impact on the electoral systems of local councils in Victoria. The Act, which the Victorian Government described as the "most ambitious and comprehe ...

''. Alden holds a Doctorate of Public Health, Masters in Women's Health and is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alden, Jennifer Living people 20th-century births Year of birth missing (living people) Mayors of Greater Bendigo 21st-century mayors of places in Australia Women mayors of places in Victoria (state)