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Rick Garotti is an Australian Politician and Financial Professional^[1] who has served as the councillor for Grimshaw Ward on Banyule City Council, in outer North-Eastern Melbourne, Victoria. He has served since elected in 2012^[2] at the time he was a member of the Victorian Labor Party although was not endorsed as an official candidate of the party. in 2021 Garotti testified in an IBAC hearing related to allegations of misuse of public funds on party political activities, and it was revealed that he had spent thousands on party memberships related to 'branch stacking' inside the Heidelberg Labor branch.^[3]

In 2021 Garotti testified to IBAC and the Victorian Ombudsman for their 'Operation Watts', an investigation set out with the goal to investigate allegations of 'branch stacking' involving misuse of public funds by certain Moderate Labor members of Parliament.^[4] Garotti explained in testimony that there was a culture involving high up members of the party and somewhat of an expectation for individuals to engage in 'branch stacking', the investigation also received testimony from notable Labor Moderate factionalist Adem Somyurek.^[4] Garotti discussed the investigation in an ABC interview whilst he was Mayor and estimated that he had spent $15,000 dollars on Labor Party memberships over the previous five years.^[3]

Garotti has advocated for homelessness and hardship assistance in Melbourne's northern suburbs and has pushed for council investment in related outreach services^[5]