Parramatta's mayor ousted after just 18 weeks in the job
Parramatta council in Sydney's west has appointed its third lord mayor in just four months. Sameer Pandey, who's the first mayor of Indian origin, has been replaced and it's left some ratepayers worried.
Transcript
00:00 So I'm going to jump now.
00:03 He started the day spruiking Parramatta's new pool.
00:07 But his career as mayor took a dive yesterday.
00:11 Samir Pandey was ousted as mayor after just four months in office.
00:15 At a caucus meeting last night, Labor councillors voted 4-3 to remove him from the top job and
00:21 nominated veteran councillor Pierre Esbar for mayor, who defeated independent Michelle
00:26 Garrard for the position.
00:27 Well I was surprised by the outcome but I spoke to my colleagues and I said I wanted
00:32 their support and they gave me their support.
00:34 Mr Esbar is Parramatta's third mayor in just four months.
00:38 In May, Donna Davis stepped down from the role after she was elected to the state seat
00:42 of Parramatta.
00:43 The fact that they're changing so often means that there's some kind of instability, right?
00:48 That gives me fear as a business owner in Parramatta.
00:50 The whole community would feel very unsettled because there's not that continuity of leadership.
00:56 It's unclear why Samir Pandey didn't receive the support of his colleagues.
01:00 Pierre Esbar says he'll resign when local government elections are due next September.
01:05 The frequent changes in leadership have raised concerns from some councillors about a lack
01:09 of stability in the Labor Party.
01:12 It is probably in the best interest of the city that the mayor goes for a longer period
01:17 than four months as Samir has.
01:20 It was disappointing, yes.
01:22 I would have thought that they might have maintained their position and shown him the
01:27 courtesy of leaving him in the chair until basically the end of the term.
01:32 The work is just progressing on.
01:33 It's just a change of leadership in the type of job.
01:35 A job ratepayers in Sydney's second CBD are hoping will remain stable ahead of the next
01:41 election.
01:41 Thank you.
01:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]