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ISSUE 15 | October 2021
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Bob passes baton to Steven OB Dwyer, the Lord Mayor who gave Parramatta a high media profile through his commitment and promotion of the Central City over the past two years, has been replaced by fellow Liberal Steven Issa. While council elections are on December 4, the State Government still directed councils with chamber-elected mayors to hold mayoral elections in September. Many councils, including Cumberland, decided to continue with their present mayors
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I could not do my job as councillor, let alone lord mayor, without the support of Jasmine.”
Parramatta Square.
– Steven Issa. LOCAL POLITICS | DI BARTOK ARRAMATTA’s new Lord Mayor Steven Issa has hit the ground running after his election to the top job on September 27. After all, there is not much time for him to leave some sort of mark on the city, with the December 4 council elections looming. While council goes into caretaker mode on November 4, that does not faze Cr Issa, who is proud to be in the position his father Tony held 2008 to 2009. “As NSW starts to re-open (after COVID lockdowns), I will be helping to steer Parramatta through that,” Cr Issa told the Parramatta Times. “And there is the continuing development of Parramatta Square, the light rail, the Metro, the Powerhouse. “But it is not only about the CBD. We have to look at life in the suburbs, with upgraded parks and facilities.” One of his main priorities is to see that Parramatta gets a fair chunk of the $5B WestInvest money the State Government has promised the West and Southwest for post-COVID recovery. See separate story page 5. Cr Issa is expected to take on the job seamlessly, given his commitment to his councillor role since being elected for the Liberal team in Rosehill ward in 2017.
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Incoming Lord Mayor, Steven Issa.
Outgoing Lord Mayor, Bob Dwyer.
The young councillor has headed council’s Smart City Committee, steering technology in the city as well as being council’s representative on the Central City Planning Panel. He will take leave from his executive job with a digital health agency, with the backing of his “rock”, wife Jasmine and his three young children. “I could not do my job as councillor, let alone lord mayor, without the support of Jasmine,” Cr Issa said. All that being as it may, Cr Issa may not have the top job after the December 4 election, even though he has a good chance of being on the new council. With all the in-fighting in the local branches of the Liberal Party–too complex to explain in this story–Liberal candidates will not be chosen for the election in Parra-
matta until about October 26. Sources have told the Times that the Liberals could have only five instead of the present six councillors in the new council, throwing the balance of power more
Proud of his achievements Labor’s way, with the help of independents and the Greens. Therefore, Labor’s Pierre Esber, who has been on council for 22 years, may have his chance as being lord mayor after December 4 A moderate, Cr Esber has often given support to the outgoing Liberal lord mayor Bob Dwyer and is more pro-development than his Labor colleagues. But the Dundas wardsman is still very much rooted in the suburbs, reminding the new lord mayor on election night that
Parramatta was “more than just the CBD”. Deputy Lord Mayor, Michelle Garrard, from the Our Local Community party, was re-elected to her position. While other councils, including neighbouring Cumberland, are continuing with their sitting mayors for the rest of the council term, Parramatta chose to have a short-term lord mayor–once again, due to internal wranglings in the Liberal Party. Outgoing Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer had hoped to continue his role up to December 4 but accepted his fate. Cr Dwyer ruffled Liberal feathers with his outspoken views of the behaviour of some of his colleagues on council. But he is proud of what he achieved during his two-year term, particularly the development of Parramatta Square, In an emotional mayoral minute delivered at his last meeting as Lord Mayor, Cr Dwyer thanked staff, led by CEO Brett Newman, and fellow councillors for working with him in achieving the best for the city. “I am immensely proud to have played a part in the ongoing transformation of our city, particularly in a time where we experienced one of the toughest periods our community has ever faced as we keenly felt the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Cr Dwyer said. Councillors from both sides thanked Cr Dwyer for his hard work. He will not contest the December election. The 70-year-old, who has been on council since 1995, will return to his migration business but will also dedicate more time to family after December.
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