1950 Wellington mayoral election

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1950 Wellington City mayoral election
Flag of New Zealand.svg
  1947 18 November 1950 1953  
Turnout33,802 (31.75%)
  Robert Macalister.jpg Frank Kitts, 1954.jpg
Candidate Robert Macalister Frank Kitts
Party Citizens' Labour
Popular vote17,58215,821
Percentage52.0246.80

Mayor before election

Will Appleton

Elected mayor

Robert Macalister

The 1950 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1950, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Contents

Background

Incumbent Mayor Will Appleton did not seek a third term. He was replaced as the Citizens' mayoral candidate by his deputy, Robert Macalister. The Citizens' Association was in disarray following an embarrassing selection row with several incumbents dumped from the ticket standing as an independent ticket. The group consisting of Councillors Malcolm Galloway, Berkeley Dallard, Sandy Pope, Len Jacobsen issued a statement saying: "Our stand is a protest against an unwise and grossly unjust selection of a secret clique." [1] All but Dallard were defeated.

The Wellington Labour Representation Committee (LRC) twice rejected recommendations from the Labour Party's national executive to not contest the mayoralty. The LRC carried an amendment that unless a full ticket (including a mayoral nomination) was to be fielded, the local-body elections would not be contested. [2] Frank Kitts was selected as the mayoral candidate. While he did not win the mayoralty, he and five others were the first Labour candidates elected as councillors since the 'Nathan Incident' in 1941. Labour actually won a majority of the vote, however due to an uneven vote dispersal between their candidates, they failed to win a majority on the council. [3]

Mayoralty results

1950 Wellington mayoral election [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens' Robert Macalister 17,582 52.02
Labour Frank Kitts 15,82146.80
Informal votes3991.18+0.39
Majority 1,7615.20
Turnout 33,80231.75−18.88

Councillor results

1950 Wellington City Council election [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens' Elizabeth Gilmer 18,133 53.64 −7.06
Labour Mervyn Castle 17,050 50.44
Citizens' Charles Treadwell 16,023 47.40 −7.49
Citizens' Ernest Toop 15,723 46.51 −5.18
Labour Frank Kitts 15,657 46.31
Citizens' Stewart Hardy 14,501 42.89 −8.48
Citizens' Harry Nankervis 14,493 42.87 −7.24
Citizens' William Birtwhistle 14,076 41.64 −5.01
Labour John Churchill 13,961 41.30 +1.41
Citizens' William Stevens 13,636 40.34 −9.38
Labour James Roberts 13,627 40.31 +1.78
Labour William Sadd 13,561 40.11 +4.55
Citizens' Denis McGrath 13,523 40.00 −9.10
Labour Jack Arthurs 13,472 39.85 +2.35
Independent Citizens' Berkeley Dallard 13,43439.74+6.60
Labour Nigel Taylor13,39439.62
Citizens' Jack Living13,29739.33−6.73
Independent Citizens' Malcolm Galloway 13,24639.18−12.57
Citizens' Stanley Dean 12,93238.25+17.56
Labour John Fleming12,91338.20−0.37
Labour Ethel Harris12,86538.05+1.85
Citizens' Ian Matheson12,86238.04
Labour Jim Bateman 12,77037.77
Labour George Mathew12,20036.09
Independent Citizens' Sandy Pope12,17236.00−14.93
Labour James Neale12,11035.82
Labour Raymond Toole12,03635.60
Labour Frank O'Flynn 12,01135.53+1.49
Independent Citizens' Len Jacobsen11,79634.89−16.75
Labour Ernest Tregoweth11,69834.60
Citizens' Jim McDonald11,68734.57
Citizens' Edgar Goulden9,27327.43
Independent William Bacon6,46019.11+0.50
Independent Leslie Austin4,98314.74−6.47
Independent Thomas Callingham3,89911.53+6.20
Communist Connie Birchfield 1,7335.12−8.26
Communist William Hunter1,6614.91
Communist Charlie Brooks1,6604.91
Communist Albert Birchfield1,5914.70
Communist Dorothy Stanton1,2393.66
Communist Ron Smith 1,1833.49
Communist Kenneth Stanton1,0883.21
Communist Mary Ann Heptinstall1,0773.18
Communist Ray Nunes8642.55

Notes

  1. "Independents From Group to Contest Wellington City Council Election". The Dominion . 28 October 1950.
  2. Betts 1970, p. 146.
  3. Betts 1970, pp. 145–146.
  4. 1 2 Coppin, William Stanley (30 November 1950). Declaration of Election Results (Report). Wellington City Council.

References