1903 Wellington mayoral election

1903 Wellington mayoral election

←  1902 20 April 1903 1904  →

Candidate John Aitken Party Independent Popular vote elected unopposed

Mayor before election John Aitken Elected mayor John Aitken

The 1903 Wellington mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1903, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including the fifteen city councillors, elected biannually. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background

This was the first election following the amalgamation of the Melrose Borough Council into the Wellington City Council following a vote in March 1903. In addition to combining the electoral rolls for the election of mayor, it instituted a ward for the former borough for the term beginning in 1903 to ensure members of the community were elected to the city council. ^[1] The Wellington Ratepayers' Association had had its organisation become largely moribund following the 1901 election. Despite lacking any regular activity, it advertised a slate of candidates it endorsed for the city council. ^{[2] [3]}

John Aitken, the incumbent Mayor, sought re-election for a fourth term in office. A large deputation of businessmen visited Aitken and requested he run again offering support and claiming others also wished him to remain in office longer, as evidenced by Aitken being elected to parliament at the 1902 general election. ^[4] The next day Aitken stated he had accepted the nomination of the deputation members. ^[5] The mayor of Melrose, Richard Keene, decided not to run for mayor and only offered himself for election to the Melrose ward of the city council. ^[6] The Trade Council voted to nominate a candidate to oppose Aitken. It voted to form a deputation to ask a former mayor, Francis Bell, to accept nomination. ^[7] Ultimately, Aitken retained office unopposed with no other candidates emerging. ^[8]

Councillor results

Wellington ward

1903 Wellington City Council election, Wellington ward ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	George Winder	2,863	93.21	+18.40
	Ratepayers	William Barber	2,831	92.18	+15.52
	Ratepayers	John Luke	2,826	92.02	+13.36
	Ratepayers	William Evans	2,745	89.38	+14.3
	Ratepayers	John Smith Jr.	2,677	87.17	+23.32
	Ratepayers	Matthew Murdoch	2,610	84.98	+19.52
	Ratepayers	James Devine	2,609	84.95	23.89
	Independent	David Nathan	2,568	83.62	+23.32
	Ratepayers	George Wiltshire	2,563	83.45
	Independent	Charles Hayward Izard	2,118	68.96	+11.14
	Labour	David McLaren	2,108	68.64	+21.15
	Independent	James Godber	1,953	63.59	+8.19
	Ratepayers	Alexander Rand	1,860	60.56	+38.90
	Independent	Robert Tolhurst	1,665	54.21
	Independent	George Anderson	1,417	46.14	+0.35
	Ratepayers	Robert Davenport	1,268	41.28	+8.20
	Independent	George Baylis	1,015	33.05
	Labour	William Hampton	990	32.23
	Ratepayers	William Worth	905	29.46
	Independent	Allan Orr	799	26.01	−13.92
	Independent	William Grant	756	24.61
	Ratepayers	Thomas Orr	609	19.83
	Independent	Vilhelm Jensen	421	13.70
Turnout			3,514	32.56	−49.67
Registered electors			10,790

Melrose ward

1903 Wellington City Council election, Melrose ward ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Albert Jorgensen	450	51.60
	Independent	George Frost	357	40.94
	Ratepayers	Richard Keene	330	37.84
	Ratepayers	Arthur Fullford	315	36.12
	Ratepayers	James Reid	313	35.89
	Independent	John Brown	289	33.14
	Independent	Colin Campbell Crump	216	24.77
	Independent	Walter Morrah	209	23.96
	Independent	William Brannigan	138	15.82
Turnout			872	45.96
Registered electors			1,897

References

• Betts, George (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN   0 589 00469 7.

Citations

1. Betts 1970, p. 39.
2. Betts 1970, pp. 96–7.
3. "Municipal Elections". New Zealand Times. Vol. LXXIV, no. 4949. 27 April 1903. p. 5. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
4. "The Mayoralty of Wellington - Deputation to Mr. Aitken". The Evening Post . Vol. LXV, no. 77. 1 April 1903. p. 4. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
5. "The Wellington Mayoralty - Mr. Aitken Decides to Seek Re-election". The Evening Post . Vol. LXV, no. 77. 1 April 1903. p. 4. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
6. "Untitled". New Zealand Mail. No. 1623. 8 April 1903. p. 49. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
7. "The Mayoralty - Mr H. D. Bell to Be Invited to Stand". New Zealand Mail. Vol. LXXIV, no. 4930. 3 April 1903. p. 5. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
8. "Mayoral Election". Free Lance. Vol. III, no. 147. 25 April 1903. p. 22. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
9. "Wellington City Council". Free Lance. Vol. III, no. 148. 2 May 1903. p. 16. Retrieved 11 May 2016.