Indian-Australian community leader and long-serving local councillor Sandy (Sandhya) Reddy has been elected the 73rd Mayor of Strathfield, taking the top civic position in one of Sydney’s most culturally diverse local government areas.
Councillors elected Reddy as mayor at Strathfield Council’s ordinary meeting on September 29, with Esther Kim elected Deputy Mayor. Reddy will serve as mayor for the remainder of the term ending in September 2028, while Kim’s deputy mayoral term runs until September 2027.
The result marks another step in a local government career that began only five years ago for Reddy, who was first elected to Strathfield Council in December 2021 and returned at the September 2024 local government election.
She previously served as deputy mayor between September 2023 and September 2024 before returning to the role in September 2025 under outgoing mayor Benjamin Cai.
“It is an honour to be elected Mayor and have the opportunity to serve the Strathfield local government area,” Reddy said following the vote.
“Our community is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family, and I am committed to working with my fellow councillors, Council staff and community to build on what makes our area special.”
Reddy said decisions made by council over the coming years would have consequences well beyond a single mayoral term.
“The decisions we make today will shape our community for years to come,” she said.
“I look forward to listening to our community, working collaboratively and ensuring Council remains focused on delivering positive outcomes for everyone who calls the Strathfield area home.”
Reddy’s election will have particular resonance within Sydney’s Indian-Australian community.
Strathfield Council describes her as a first-generation migrant from India. She holds a Bachelor of Law and a Master of Anthropology, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Migration Law from the Australian National University. She has also operated an education and migration services practice while raising her family in Strathfield.
Her path into elected office followed years of community volunteering.
Before becoming a councillor, Reddy was involved in activities ranging from school chess tournaments and Clean Up Australia events to Share the Dignity, blood donation drives and volunteering with the State Emergency Service.
During the 2019-20 bushfire period, she assisted with the Bushfire Information Line through her SES work. Strathfield Council named her its Local Citizen of the Year in 2020, citing her work supporting newly arrived residents, young people, women affected by domestic violence and community organisations.
Her community work later translated into council politics.
The NSW Electoral Commission records Reddy as having been elected as a Liberal candidate at the 2024 local government election. The current seven-member Strathfield Council also includes three Liberal councillors, two Labor councillors, one Strathfield Independent and an independent.
Reddy has also chaired Strathfield Council’s Multicultural and Diversity Advisory Committee and has been involved in council motions recognising the contribution and concerns of multicultural communities, including the Indian-Australian community.
Her elevation comes in a municipality where cultural diversity is central to local government planning.
Strathfield Council covers about 14 square kilometres in Sydney’s inner west and has an estimated population of about 46,000, with council projecting the population will exceed 60,000 by 2041. Languages commonly spoken at home other than English include Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Tamil and Arabic.
Unlike councils where voters directly elect a mayor, Strathfield’s mayor is chosen by the seven councillors from among themselves.
The new Deputy Mayor, Esther Kim, entered council more recently.
Kim was first elected in September 2024 and was among the seven councillors sworn in following that year’s local government election.
Council records say Kim was born and raised in Busan, South Korea, migrated to Australia in 1987 and studied French language education at Busan National University.
She later worked as a trade finance manager with KEB Australia Limited before becoming involved in her family business and community volunteering. Council says her areas of interest include transport, town centres and strengthening Strathfield’s cultural diversity.
Kim said local government was ultimately about services and infrastructure residents encounter every day.
“It is a privilege to take on the role of Deputy Mayor and to serve our local community,” she said.
“Local government is about the things people see and experience every day. Our roads, parks, facilities, services, neighbourhoods and the places that bring our community together.”
She said councillors had a responsibility to identify areas for improvement and make decisions capable of leaving “a lasting legacy”.
The leadership change ends Benjamin Cai’s year as mayor.
Cai was elected mayor in September 2025 after previously serving as deputy mayor. Council records show he was first elected in 2021 and returned at the 2024 election.
The mayoralty has rotated among several councillors during the current and previous council terms, with John-Paul Baladi serving from 2024 to 2025 before Cai took over.
Council thanked Cai for his service while also acknowledging Reddy’s previous contribution as deputy mayor.
Reddy now assumes the mayoralty as Strathfield manages the pressures common to fast-growing parts of Sydney: population growth, development, transport and parking, public spaces, community facilities and maintaining services for an increasingly diverse population.
Council’s current four-year delivery program identifies development and population growth, community safety, transport and parking, improved town centres, urban design, green space and support for culturally and linguistically diverse communities among its continuing priorities.
For Reddy, who entered Strathfield’s public life as a community volunteer before becoming its Citizen of the Year, councillor, deputy mayor and now mayor, the new role represents the latest stage of a notably rapid rise through local government.
She will now lead the council through to the end of the current council term in September 2028, when Strathfield residents are next due to elect their councillors.
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