By XAVIER SMERDON
A WYNDHAM councillor and candidate for re-election has been expelled from the Labor party.
Marcel Mahfoud, who is running for re-election in the Chaffey Ward, was kicked out of his party for running against a Labor supported candidate.
Operations Manager of the Australian Labor Party Victorian Branch head office, Ros Spence, told Star Cr Mahfoud was written to on 27 September informing him that he would be removed from the party.
“He was advised that given he had nominated where there is a supported candidate that would mean an automatic forfeiture of his membership,” Ms Spence said.
“Members (of the Labor party) were given the opportunity to run as supported candidates.
“Mr Mahfoud chose to run against a supported candidate which was a breach of his membership pledge.”
Cr Mahfoud did not accept the offer to be supported by the Labor party in this month’s election, but by running against Marie Brittan, who has been endorsed, he was stripped of his membership.
Ms Spence said “very few” Labor members had found themselves in the same situation as Cr Mahfoud.
Cr Mahfoud told Star he was “disappointed” by the news but he did not think it would affect his chances at being re-elected.
“I may lose the support of some traditional Labor members but I’ve also been contacted by a lot of members who have said they don’t think it’s right,” Cr Mahfoud said.
“I don’t think party politics should come into local government anyway and I’ve never brought that into council decision-making, I’ve just based my decisions on my own values.
“I refused to be a supported candidate because the party doesn’t form a government as it does at State or Federal levels.”
