SNP star: Sexists forced me to quit
Rosa accuses councillors of smears and email jibes as she resigns after two years
AN SNP councillor is quitting her job after claiming she was the victim of a campaign of harassment.
In a statement posted online, Rosa Zambonini said she’d been smeared by other councillors.
The Wishaw councillor, who is facing a standards probe next month, was a high-profile figure in the SNP ranks after winning a by-election two years ago.
Last summer, she described the first year of her role as the “most rewarding 12 months of my life”.
And she hit the headlines in October by helping her son announce he was transitioning into a girl. It was part of a campaign to support LGBT rights in schools.
Yesterday, Zambonini, 34, said: “When I took on the by-election in 2015, I believed with all my heart that a single mum from a scheme could be anything she wanted to be. I still do. However, we have a long way to go when it comes to being a woman in politics.”
She added: “I was told there was a smear campaign put out by the Labour Party councillors based mostly around
the fact I’m a woman. Stories I would not share because they were clever and fly with it, and they would cause upset to my family.
“Independent councillors leaked information and tried to belittle me using the council’s own email systems.
“The media took who I was as a young woman and made a joke of my looks and selfies.”
Zambonini is due before a standards commission hearing after allegations she didn’t disclose she worked for SNP MSP James Dornan in her declaration of interests.
Yesterday, she dismissed the probe by saying: “Busy mum forgets to do something eh? Big news.”
The SNP and Labour declined to comment on her claims.
The media took who I was and made a joke of my looks and selfies ROSA ZAMBONINI