Former mayor Lorraine Wearne has been re-elected to Parramatta Council.
Steven Issa, the son of Granville MP Tony Issa has been elected as a Parramatta councillor.
There will be five fresh faces in the Parramatta Council chamber when the newly-elected councillors down sit to elect a lord mayor on Monday.
But the council will retain plenty of familiarity.
Not least through Steven Issa, who was elected to fill the seat occupied by his father Tony for a quarter of a century.
Although undoubtedly influenced by his father’s career in politics, the new Councillor Issa insists he will make his own decisions.
‘‘I’ve grown up with (council politics) for 25 years but I am my own man,’’ he said.
‘‘I intend to make my own decisions.
‘‘I’ve grown up in the (Woodville) Ward.
‘‘I bought a house here and intend to raise my family here, so it’s in my interest to make sure my family and the families of residents grow up in a safe, progressive community.’’
New regulations that prevent state members of parliament from sitting on councils compelled Tony Issa, the Granville MP, not to contest his council seat again.
Critics claimed the Liberal Party’s endorsement of Steven to contest his father’s position was nepotism but the younger Issa can safely claim to be as qualified as most councillors.
With a first class honours from Sydney University in computer science, he has worked in Australia, throughout Asia and in the US as a business management consultant.
He is currently a PhD candidate at Sydney University and also operates his own small business.
If that wasn’t enough to keep the new councillor busy, he also became a father for the first time just days before the election.
‘‘It was massive, this week,’’ he said.
‘‘A new baby girl, becoming a councillor, I became a Justice of the Peace, so there were a few things happening.’’
Other new faces on Parramatta Council will be Labor’s Shahadat Chowdhury and Liberal Bob Dwyer in Caroline Chisholm Ward.
Labor councillor James Shaw and Liberal John Hugh are also newly-elected in Elizabeth Macarthur Ward.
Full list of councillors:
Arthur Phillip
Bakous Makari, Liberal
Julia Finn, Labor
Andrew Wilson, Lorraine Wearne independents
Caroline Chisholm
Scott Lloyd, Liberal
Shahadat Chowdhury, Labor
Bob Dwyer, Liberal
Elizabeth Macarthur
John Chedid, Liberal
James Shaw, Labor
John Hugh, Liberal
Lachlan Macquarie
John Pierre Abood, Liberal
Lorraine Wearne, Lorraine Wearne independents
Woodville Ward
Steven Issa, Liberal
Paul Garrard, independent
Glenn Elmore, Labor