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NSW Liberal president Don Harwin has stared down calls for his scalp amid a catastrophic nomination bungle as an interim state director was installed amid continued calls for federal party intervention and possible class action.

Richard Shields on Friday near his home in Vaucluse, Sydney, following his dismissal as Liberal Party state director. Picture: Tom Parrish

NSW Liberal president Don Harwin has stared down calls for his scalp amid a catastrophic nominations bungle that left about 140 candidates off local election ballots as an interim state director was ­installed amid calls for federal ­intervention.

The party has launched an immediate review into the debacle to ensure it “never happened again” and reimbursed nomination fees to those affected.

Candidates unable to run have also explored possible legal action against the party, with Centennial Lawyers indicating on Friday that they were investigating a potential class action on behalf of councillors “let down by their organisation”.

“Not only have they lost application fees, but potentially councillors’ fees which can amount to up to over $100,000 a year,” principal solicitor George Newhouse said.

The failure to lodge the nominations before the NSW Electoral Commission’s midday Wednesday deadline left sitting councillors and prospective candidates in the ­wilderness, and furious, leading to state director Richard Shields’ sacking on Thursday at an emergency state executive meeting.

But Mr Harwin remained ­defiant in the face of calls to resign.

“We (Mr Harwin and the state executive) are working together to make sure the party stays focused on the things that really matter,” he said, claiming there was no pressure from state or federal leaders to vacate the role.

Don Harwin. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

“I am in constant contact with the federal parliamentary leadership and the federal director about the (next election campaign), ­ensuring that our campaign ­remains on track.

“(NSW Opposition Leader) Mark Speakman and I have a great relationship. We’re working ­closely on state parliamentary matters and on campaigning.”

On Friday, the state party ­appointed its affairs manager, Wilson Chessell, as acting state director. He will stay in the role for at least 10 days during a preselection for former premier Dominic Perrottet’s state seat of Epping.

The party will also reimburse nomination fees to all candidates caught up in the debacle, which left 140 candidates and 48 sitting councillors left off the ballot. “What ­occurred this week is simply not good enough,” the party said in a statement. “We are moving forward with a comprehensive plan to ensure this never happens again.”

Liberal sources were floating former director Chris Stone as a potential replacement, saying that he represented the best chance at stability and to prevent federal party intervention.

“If Stone is brought back in, then it’s happy days,” one senior Liberal said.

Mr Harwin, who Mr Shields on Thursday said had volunteered to “run” the process, is alleged to have “micromanaged” the selection of tickets, exacerbating time constraints.

Sutherland Mayor Carmelo Pesce was dropped from the Liberal ticket in August and is instead running as an independent. He claimed that “Mr Harwin came down here and hand-picked” the ticket.

“I thought it was just (our ­ticket), and now it’s panning out that he’s done it in other councils,” Mr Pesce said, calling for federal party intervention. “He micromanaged and hand-picked to put his favourite people in the seats.”

Multiple party sources suggested that a battle to reform the party’s constitution divided its ­attention, compounding pressures on the party to nominate in time.

“(They were) spending months on end trying to sort that out, when they probably should have been just lining all their ducks up in a row in relation to the council candidates,” one party insider said.

There will be no Liberal candidates on the ballot in Sydney’s northern beaches local government area, a party heartland. Pittwater MP Rory Amon, whose electorate encompasses parts of the area, said the party needed to look long and hard at its structure.

“Reforms that we needed (in order) to have a better process should have been passed in February, and they were blocked,” he said.