Glenn Brookes

Brookes was born at Bankstown Hospital and attended East Hills Primary and High Schools. Leaving school at a young age, he built a successful large business, Sydney Signs, in a monopoly market. He now manages several companies.[3]

In 2004, Brookes was elected to serve as a councillor on Bankstown City Council and continues to hold this position.[4] He first ran for East Hills in the 2003 NSW election, losing to incumbent Labor member Alan Ashton who achieved 68.5 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.[5] He ran again for East Hills at the 2007 NSW election, losing again to Ashton, on a two-party preferred margin of 64.1 per cent for Labor. Brookes was the recipient of a 3.8-point increase in support from the 2003 election.[6]

In 2011, Brookes again contested East Hills; Ashton was again his main competitor. With the election strategies implemented by his Campaign Manager, Geoffrey Grasso, Brookes defeated Ashton, with a swing of 14.3 per cent, winning the seat from Labor for the first time in history, and holding the seat with 50.6 per cent of the two-party vote.[6] Since the seat of East Hills was created in 1953, up until the 2011 NSW election, it had been held continuously by Labor, represented by only three members of parliament.[6] On 21 March 2016, Brookes resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent after his election campaign manager, Jim Daniels, was charged with electoral offences.[7] He later rejoined the party.