It was supposed to be a relaxing Sunday morning meet-and-greet between the Liberal candidate for Keira Philip Clifford and his northern suburbs constituents.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But Mr Clifford's attempts to campaign outside Bulli's popular Foragers Markets came to an uncomfortable head when market organiser Kirrily Sinclair objected to the dozen A-frame signs erected on the footpath and roundabout outside the market.
In what Mr Clifford has described as an "uncalled-for" and "disappointing" incident, Ms Sinclair confronted campaigner Greg Jones before allegedly pushing over a number of signs, damaging one in the process.
"We were just smiling at the traffic - not even giving them brochures or anything - and the next thing we knew the lady was taking the signs down off the fence," Mr Jones said.
"When I approached her, I said: 'This is a public street, what are you doing?' And she said: 'These are my markets and you can't put those signs up'."
Mr Jones said Ms Sinclair told him she was an "avid Greens supporter" before becoming aggressive and "knocking over" a number of signs.
Speaking to the Mercury on Sunday afternoon, Ms Sinclair denied being aggressive or that her actions were politically motivated.
Instead, she claimed Mr Jones was "desperate for a controversy" and had exaggerated the incident to gain media coverage.
"It was an extremely windy day and we had umbrellas blowing away so I said to [Mr Jones] the [A-frame signs are] unsafe and you need to lay them down or they're going to blow over," she said.
"He was very quick to jump down my throat and said he did not want me to move the signs but [I told him] 'I'm not moving them, I'm just laying them down' and I very gently laid signs down.
"One of them, when I put it down, fell apart but that was because it was flimsy."
When asked if she was an avid Greens supporter or had expressed as much to Mr Jones, Ms Sinclair declined to comment.
Mr Clifford, who also campaigned as the Liberal candidate for Cunningham in the 2013 federal election, said he had never encountered such a negative reaction by a member of the public but would continue.
"We are 3½ weeks from a NSW state election and everyone has the right to get out there and [campaign in this way]."
