History-making results have come out of the City of Parramatta Local Government Election, as women take majority in the Council.
Whilst results won’t be completely finalised until the last postal ballot is counted, so far the new-look Council consists of six Labor representatives, three Our Local Community (OLC), two independents and one Lorraine Wearne Independents, with three spots still undecided.
From this morning’s count, eight of the 15 newly elected Councillors are women, doubling the female representation on the previous Council.
Incumbent Councillors Lorraine Wearne (Epping Ward), Donna Davis (Epping Ward), Michelle Garrard (Dundas Ward) and Patricia Prociv (Rosehill Ward) were all re-elected.
Newcomers include founder of Parra Parents, Kellie Darley, who as of today’s count took out an impressive 23.6 per cent for her first time running an independent ticket in the Dundas Ward; Labor’s North Rocks ticket led by another fresh face on the political scene, Ange Humphries, took out an incredible 32 per cent of votes. Other successful candidates in the same ward are Our Local Community’s Donna Wang and conservative independent Georgina Valjak.
Prior to the election, the Liberal Party announced it would not endorse candidates in the City of Parramatta and Cumberland City – a decision that has now seen Labor take a major presence in both chambers.
Cr Valjak, who is a member of the Liberal Party, would have been their first elected female candidate to the City of Parramatta, had they endorsed her.
Cr Valjak said she felt honoured to have received so much support.
“I do hope to offer a conservative Liberal voice and am keen to see the completion of projects which benefited from the billions of dollars which the coalition Government has invested in the City of Parramatta,” she said.
“I believe representation at Local Government means putting our community first and foremost.”
The Labor Epping Ward ticket currently holds the largest percentage of votes at 47.7 per cent.
As a result, Cr Davis’ number two candidate, Cameron Maclean was also elected.
Cr Davis said she felt proud to be elected among so many women.
“While every individual brings a different perspective, the gender imbalance on this and most Councils has continued for far too long,” she said.
“Cameron, aged 23, will be the youngest person on Council. Youth are currently under-represented on Councils, including ours.
“All Councillors, new and returning, will bring fresh ideas and views to the chamber.”
Incumbent male Councillors Pierre Esber (Dundas Ward) and Sameer Pandey (Parramatta Ward) were re-elected with newcomer OLC candidate Henry Green (Parramatta Ward).
Two spots in Rosehill Ward and one in Parramatta Ward have not yet been called.
Former Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer, who ran as number two to Cr Valjak in North Rocks, was not re-elected.
For Cumberland City, sitting OLC Mayor Steve Christou was re-elected in the Granville Ward alongside incumbent Labor Councillor Ola Hamed and Liberal independent Joseph Rahme.
Independent Greg Cummings and OLC’s Eddy Sarkis were re-elected in Greystanes alongside newcomer Labor candidate Diane Colman.
As of today’s results, Labor has taken out a whopping 63.4 per cent in Regents Park re-electing Kun Huang and electing newcomer Sabrin Farooqui. The third spot remains undecided.
Labor’s South Granville Ward ticket dominated at 64.6 per cent of votes so far, re-electing Glenn Elmore and electing newcomer Mohamad Hussein. Council veteran and OLC member Paul Garrard secured the third spot.
Incumbent Wetworthville Ward candidates, including Labor’s Suman Saha and Liberal independent Michael Zaiter were re-elected.
The third spot remains undecided but will likely go to incumbent Labor Councillor Lisa Lake.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.