Winston Hills state election: Sameer Pandey wins Labor preselection

A Parramatta Labor councillor is ready to turn a seat red when he runs as its candidate in the state election. Find out his next step.

Parramatta Lord Mayor Donna Davis and Deputy Lord Mayor Sameer Pandey after they were elected uncontested on January 10, 2022.

Parramatta Deputy Lord Mayor Sameer Pandey has won preselection for the newly formed state seat of Winston Hills after pipping an IT engineer and software company director.

Seven Hills will be abolished and renamed Winston Hills, where Seven Hills Liberal incumbent Mark Taylor, who holds the electorate with a 5.6 per cent margin, will recontest the March 25 poll.

On Saturday, Sameer Pandey won 53 per cent of the primary vote against fellow party nominees Immanuel Selvaraj and Thiru Arumugam.

An official announcement is expected to be made on Tuesday when Labor Leader Chris Minns will declare Mr Pandey as the candidate.

Mr Pandey named the upgrade of Toongabbie Bridge as his priority. He was not clear if it would be expanded or rebuilt but said it was his priority to deliver the infrastructure.

He also wants to alleviate traffic between the Cumberland Highway and Darcy Rd, where cars are often banked up to Westmead Hospital.

The 44-year-old married father-of-two runs technology business Innovative Hub and wants to bring a balance between development and infrastructure to the community.

Sameer Pandey has been a Parramatta councillor since 2017.

Under boundary changes, the newly renamed Winston Hills electorate extends to Glenwood, along with Kings Langley, Toongabbie, Seven Hills, Pendle Hill, Lalor Park, Wentworthville, Westmead and North Rocks.

Mr Pandey joined Labor 17 years ago and is the Greenway Federal Electoral Commission secretary. He became a councillor in 2017.

Mr Taylor was elected unopposed in October. He has pledged to focus on upgrading recreating reserves such as Max Ruddock Reserve at Winston Hills, Sue Savage Reserve at Toongabbie and Ashley Brown Reserve at Lalor Park.

If Mr Pandey wins, it could signal a change on Parramatta Council.

His potential exit could also coincide with Parramatta Lord Mayor Donna Davis' departure if she wins the state seat of Parramatta.

She has not disclosed plans to run for Parramatta, where Liberal incumbent Geoff Lee is retiring, but if she secures preselection and prevails the new member for the key seat, a council by-election is not likely.

Instead, the candidates who accrued the most votes after the mayor and deputy mayor in their respective wards at the council elections in December would replace them in the chamber. In Mr Pandey's case, it would be James Shaw.

"I think there will be a transition,'' Mr Pandey said.

"I don't think it will bring instability.  I think it's something we can plan for. I don't think it should have any major impact.''

Mr Pandey said after 12 years in office, the Liberals were tired and failed to deliver the essential services for families.

“But instead of investing in and improving these services, Perrottet’s Liberals only have plans for Band-Aid fixes, more privatisation and jobs for mates," Mr Pandey said.

Two other Labor party hopefuls Mr Selvaraj and Mr Arumugam, share Mr Pandey’s subcontinental background.

Immanuel Selvaraj ran as the Labor candidate for Mitchell in the 2022 federal election.

Mr Selvaraj contested the federal election for Mitchell in May and was buoyed by an 8 per cent swing to Labor despite the defeat to Liberal Alex Hawke.

The 57 year old noted it was the third largest swing to Labor after Michelle Rowland (Greenway) and Sally Sitou (Reid).

He recorded 39.7 per cent of the overall vote, including 41 and 49 per cent in the Winston Hills and Northmead booths respectively.

Mr Selvaraj, a married father-of-one who has lived at Baulkham Hills for 16 years, is confident “with the right strategy’’ Winston Hills could turn red.

The Greater Cumberland Chamber of Commerce and Rouse Hill Men’s Shed president is a director of US-based multi-billion dollar software company American Cyber Systems.

Ahead of preselection, Girraween resident and Toongabbie Labor branch senior vice president Mr Arumugam said: “A lot of things in this area could do with (improvements for) infrastructure and overdevelopment.

“I believe that together we can make a difference.’’

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