Vic Tagg, a former Liberal mayor contesting the east ward by-election as an independent, allegedly punched serving Liberal mayor Bill Pickering at Putney Public School on Saturday.

Cr Pickering, the campaign director for Mr Tagg's Liberal rival candidate Jane Stott, said he collapsed and "may have blacked out for a little while" after being knocked into a garden bed.

The mayor, who had been handing out sandwiches and thanking volunteers shortly before the incident occurred, was taken to Ryde hospital after being treated at the scene.

Cr Pickering admitted to being "still a little sore" on Wednesday, but again declined to detail the circumstances that led to Saturday's incident.

He previously told reporters that he was speaking to a couple "being berated" after becoming aware "certain things were being said that were quite defamatory" before he was allegedly punched.

Mr Tagg, who was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, blamed the mayor for his outburst, telling Channel Nine he "snapped" after "Bill told people I was a crook and corrupt".

However, Cr Pickering said his statement to police was "very, very different to that" version of events.

"I'm not going to make any more comment other than just saying that there were witnesses that I'm sure will reveal what was and wasn't said," Cr Pickering said.

But the "unforgettable" campaign has also been a successful one for Cr Pickering: Cr Stott has been elected as Ryde's first female Liberal councillor after beating Labor's Penny Pedersen by 611 votes.

The by-election, which has handed the Liberal Party its sixth Ryde councillor and with it effective control of the council, was triggered by the resignation of former mayor Ivan Petch.

Cr Petch, who was suspended by Local Government Minister Paul Toole after being found to have engaged in corrupt conduct by ICAC, resigned in December after failing to overturn the findings in the Supreme Court.

The corruption watchdog also recommended the Director of Public Prosecutions examine whether Mr Tagg should be pursued for breaches of campaign donation laws in relation to newspaper advertising that appeared in the lead up to the 2012 local government elecitons.

Comment has been sought from Mr Tagg. He is due to appear before Burwood Local Court in April.