Russell Irwin Savage (born 27 January 1948) is an Australian politician, who was the independent member for the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Mildura from 1996 until 2006.
Savage was born in 1948 in Melbourne, and educated at the Red Hill Consolidated School on the Mornington Peninsula.
Savage based his campaign on the neglect of rural Victoria by incumbent Premier Jeff Kennett's government, in particular its closure of The Vinelander rail service between Melbourne and Mildura.
At 11am on 18 October, Savage, Ingram and Davies held simultaneous press conferences, announcing their support for the Labor Party led by Steve Bracks.
[5] Savage lost his seat to the National Party's Peter Crisp in the 2006 Victorian State election, a loss he attributed to the Nationals' high-budget campaign, Labor's failure to reopen the Mildura rail link, and a proposal to build a toxic waste dump in his electorate.