In the lead-up to the federal election, Dr Andy Marks was everywhere. Less than a week after the vote, Marks, a well-regarded voice for western Sydney, was gone.

The upbeat, preppy academic from Parramatta, acting in his role as deputy vice chancellor at Western Sydney University, has spent the past decade as the go-to analyst for political and cultural events in the region. But the university announced former Liberal member for Parramatta, Geoff Lee, would take on an expanded role replacing Marks.

While some in the university saw him as simply a casualty of the massive cost-cutting exercise it is undertaking to fill an $80 million budget black hole, others believe jealousy from some quarters within the institution at the media profile Marks had built played a part in his downfall.

Insiders said there was frustration and envy that Marks, a protégé of the former vice chancellor Barney Glover, was seen as a spokesperson both for the university and the region.

When asked directly if Marks was sacked, Lee said: “I don’t think so, to be honest with you. It’s not for me to comment, to be quite frank with you, but it was amicable.”

His departure is emblematic of an intensifying rivalry over who gets to speak for western Sydney, particularly as the region’s economic, cultural and political power skyrockets.

Others are vying to wield the megaphone – and most seeking to do so appear to be men, even though women overwhelmingly represent the area at state and federal levels of parliament.

Two of the most prominent are Adam Leto of the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue lobby group and David Borger of Business Western Sydney. Like Marks, both men appear regularly in the media as representatives of the region, and the trio has appeared in online and digital publications roughly the same number of times in the past year.

But another contender is waiting in the wings: Marks’ erstwhile boss George Williams, the renowned law professor turned vice chancellor of Western Sydney University, who Lee argued was an excellent “thought leader” in the region.

All this indicates that the race to be seen as the leader of western Sydney has escalated dramatically.

And why wouldn’t there be a race? Western Sydney is growing in prestige, represents a tenth of the country’s voting bloc, and is the third-largest economy in the country (behind Sydney and Melbourne). It’s young, it’s powerful, and its population is booming.

For Dai Le, the independent who retained the seat of Fowler at the last election, a lack of action from elected officials created a void these figures are attempting to fill.

Le, who won a tight battle to hold on to her seat, said elected officials should be the ones to represent and advocate for the region.

But ultimately, she said, they weren’t doing a good enough job, opening space for non-government figures to stake a claim at representation.

“They are filling a vacuum because no one has been speaking up for western Sydney. Elected members, both state and federal, have not historically spoken up.

“They are speaking because they’ve created this position, and because right now, despite the huge number of MPs elected to represent western and south-western Sydney, the region does not have a voice in government.”

In contrast to the men advocating for change using apolitical podiums, women are leading the charge in elected politics. In federal parliament, there’s Le, Labor’s Sally Sitou for Reid and Susan Templeman for Macquarie, Anne Maree Stanley for Werriwa, Michelle Rowland for Greenway, and the only Liberal federal member in western Sydney, Lindsay’s Melissa McIntosh.

At the state level, the number of western Sydney women in politics continues to soar with Parramatta’s Donna Davis, Epping’s Monica Tudehope, Granville’s Julia Finn, Penrith’s Karen McKeown, Auburn’s Lynda Voltz, Holsworthy’s Tina Ayyad, Canterbury’s Sophie Cotsis, the Blue Mountains’ Trish Doyle, Liverpool’s Charishma Kaliyanda, Tanya Davies in Badgerys Creek and Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney Prue Car.

With a decade in politics in western Sydney, Car knows firsthand that the region is full of smart, passionate women who know their communities. It’s something she would like to see better reflected when it comes to advocacy.

“If we want decisions and stories about western Sydney to reflect reality, women’s perspectives must be front and centre – not an afterthought. We’ve made progress since I began my career, but there’s still more to do and more voices to elevate,” she said.

The Herald collated every appearance by the high-profile men between May 2024 and May 2025, and Leto led the race making 22 appearances in that time, followed by Marks on 20, Williams on 19 and Borger on 16.

They covered a wide range of topics, including the election, the opening of “Pondi Beach”, infrastructure projects and crime (several mentioning Williams referred to the university’s job cuts or data breaches). And while the list isn’t all-encompassing, it reflects how they are running neck and neck when it comes to building authority to speak.

But to Borger, a “bit of healthy competition never hurts”.

The former Parramatta councillor-turned-lord mayor-turned-state member for Parramatta-turned-minister for housing-turned-minister for western Sydney and Roads turned head of Business Western Sydney saw the race as emblematic of the rising importance of the area.

His business chamber counts among its 110 members leaders from many Australian and international corporations, including the AFL and NRL, ClubsNSW, Deloitte, Stockland and Woolworths Group.

The chamber began as an advocate in the early 2010s for an international airport in the area. Councils were against the plans and funding was dry. Now, Western Sydney International is due to open in 2026.

“I think it was a turning point for the region, it was when western Sydney finally stood up for itself,” Borger said. “It turned a corner and said ‘Actually, we want this thing now and we are prepared to campaign for it’.”

Leto, chief executive officer of the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue (WSLD), believes in “telling and promoting the story of western Sydney” to as many people as possible.

The Dialogue, which lists myriad western Sydney councils, developers and business groups as its clients, is owned by Christopher Brown, a long-time lobbyist for the region. (Brown said being called a lobbyist was like being called a used-car salesman; he preferred the term “advocate”.) Leto, and multiple other staff, work for Brown’s registered lobbying firm Taylor Street Advisory.

Brown grew up in Parramatta and Leto, who began work as a local journalist at the St Mary Star and Fairfield Champion, runs the organisation from a converted warehouse in Balmain. But he said he spent 80 per cent of his time on the road in western Sydney, and that they had a small office space on the outskirts of Parramatta’s CBD. On Monday WSLD announced it would open an office in Parramatta Square.

Leto said his group’s work and that of Borger’s at Business Western Sydney complemented each other. “I can’t fault what they do over there,” he said. “We don’t need a singular voice. The more diversity of voice the better for the region.”

The lack of diversity of voices campaigning for the region’s future is not lost on the current advocates. The Dialogue has set up Generation West, seeking to engage young leaders from across Greater Western Sydney.

“We need to do a better job in making sure that they have a voice and a seat at the table,” Leto said.

And there are other voices joining the chorus too: last week, one western Sydney mayor announced they’d be forming the Western Sydney Cabinet of Mayors (WESTcom), to advocate for the region to “globally position the region for future opportunity and growth”. It joins the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) as another coalition of regional councils, albeit one that only represents five councils in the west.

The new body is being spearheaded by Parramatta Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter, who said he was open to collaboration.

“A united western Sydney is a stronger western Sydney and the sky’s the limit if we can manage to work together.”

The Sydney Morning Herald has opened its bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email parramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.