PAUL Toole says he is a "proud National" as he campaigns for the March 23 state election, but his new promotional material tells a different story.
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Mr Toole has opened a campaign office at the corner of George and Keppel streets in the Bathurst CBD, with larger-than-life posters of him smiling happily through the windows.
The posters also scream "Vote 1 Paul Toole" in large, bold print and three banners hung along the awnings carry the same message.
But voters have to look more closely - much more closely - to find any mention of the party Mr Toole has represented in state parliament for the past eight years.
When the Western Advocate checked out the office this week, the only Nationals branding was in very small print on two A-frame signs placed on the footpath outside.
It's a similar story with Mr Toole's newly badged Toyota Kluger campaign car, which carries very small Nationals branding on the trim beneath the two back doors, and also campaign posters spotted at the side of Littlebourne Street in the Kelso industrial zone.
For all that, though, Mr Toole denies he is distancing himself from the Nationals and running as a virtual independent.
"All my office, corflute and car designs are done through head office so everything is approved through Nationals campaign headquarters when it comes to advertising," Mr Toole said.
"I'm proudly part of the Nationals, part of the team and part of the government but as a local member I'm the one working hard each and every day to make sure regional NSW is at the forefront of state politics and, more importantly, Bathurst."
Mr Toole said the design of his advertising material for the 2019 had not changed markedly when compared to the elections he contested in 2011 and 2015.
He also denied Nationals leader John Barilaro had been asked to stay away from Bathurst, saying the deputy premier was due to make two visits to the city in the next fortnight.
