Lorraine Wearne was a successful Independent local Councillor on the Parramatta City Council from 1995 to 2007 and was Lord Mayor from 2000-2001. This made her the first woman Lord Mayor of Parramatta and the first woman in the Sydney region to hold that title. She was motivated to run for the 2003 election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Parramatta by a sense of fair play. Her campaign slogan was "People not Politics for Parramatta". Lorraine Wearne's candidature as an Independent was prompted by distaste of the preselection procedures of the ALP which imposed a Head Office candidate over a local Councillor.

Sources used to compile this entry: Putting Skirts on the Sacred Benches: Women Candidates for the New South Wales Parliament, Australian Women's Archives Project, 2006, http://www.womenaustralia.info/exhib/pssb/home.html; Ephemera on NSW State and local elections, Box 12, Mitchell Library collection, State Library of NSW, Sydney; http://www.pioneerwomen.com.au/quiltsigs.htm (accessed 27 July 2005); Lorraine Wearne, 27 July 2005.