The Mayor of neighbouring Hills Council, Liberal  Peter Gangemi has issued a public message of support for Councillor Nathan Zamprogno after he was suspended from the Liberal Party for three-year this week. 

The suspension was the result of a successful internal party campaign against him by Hawkesbury Mayor Sarah McMahon and her predecessor Councillor Patrick Conolly. Councillor Zamprogno has received dozens of messages of support on social media as well as “considerable” messages of private support, he told the Hawkesbury Post.

“I’m very sorry to hear this news, Councillor Nathan Zamprogno. The Liberal Party was stronger and better for having you in it. You are a very hard working and well respected Councillor in the community, keep doing all the good you can,” Dr Gangemi said.

Many of the public comments have questioned the role of party politics in local government and said Cr Zamprogno was better off outside the Liberal Party.

“I really believe that the local govt is about local issues and representatives. Not about party factions. I will only ever support independents. Appalled by both Lib and Lab. Parties in Hawkesbury. Lost my support,” Helen Makay wrote on Facebook, reflecting a number of comments.

Cr Zamprogno’s lengthy announcement of his resignation on September 5 where he branded Cr McMahon as a “bully” saw the mayor issue a late-night diatribe almost 1,500 words long on the Mayor’s ratepayer owned Facebook page. In the full frontal attack she smeared her fellow councillors, accusing them variously of “dishonesty”, “toxicity” and “disrespect for the Hawkesbury community.”

Apparently McMahon was not satisfied that she had bounced a rival Liberal Zamprogno from a party whose branches that she, her domestic partner property developer Mathew Bennett and former Liberal MP and Hawkesbury Councillor Bart Bassett now control.

In her post she also also attacked the owners of the Hawkesbury Post, seemingly for publishing the news of Cr Zamprogno’s Liberal Party suspension. Many of Cr McMahon’s comments appear to have breached the Hawkesbury Council’s Media Policy and its proposed Draft Media Policy that was recently open for comment

In a blow for Great Western Sydney Liberals their local Senate representative Marise Payne, a long time supporter and early political mentor of Cr McMahon’s announced today she is retiring from politics. It is unclear who will replace her.

Cr McMahon will bid to retain the Mayor’s position at mid-term elections next week.