1953 Auckland City mayoral election

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1953 Auckland City mayoral election
Coat of arms of Auckland.svg
←  1950 31 October 1953 1956  →
Turnout39,561
  John Luxford.jpg John Allum.jpg
Candidate John Luxford John Allum
Party Independent Independent
Popular vote20,20118,633
Percentage51.0647.09
Mayor before election

John Allum

Elected mayor

John Luxford

The 1953 Auckland City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1953, elections were held for the Mayor of Auckland plus other local government positions including twenty-one city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Contents

Background

Long serving incumbent mayor John Allum was successfully challenged by former magistrate John Luxford. [1] Allum was the first mayor in the 20th century who had stood for re-election unsuccessfully. Luxford was endorsed by the new United Independents electoral ticket who gained the balance of power between the Labour Party and Citizens & Ratepayers, costing the latter the majority they had held since 1938. [2]

The Labour Party initially intended to stand a candidate and it was seen that MP for Arch Hill and former councillor John Stewart would stand. [3] Stewart was selected as Labour's nominee but later withdrew his candidacy prompting the party to re-open nominations. [4] Labour selected a replacement candidate, Richard Newell Stephen Joseph Wrathall, to replace Stewart. Wrathall, who was Labour's candidate for North Shore at the 1951 election, was vice-president of the Auckland Labour Representation Committee and a candidate for the city council in 1947, 1950 and a 1952 by-election. He was an engineering clerk and both an executive member of the Auckland Trades Council and Clerical Workers' Union. [5] Just over a month before the election, Wrathall was removed as a candidate after he was suspended as a member of the party. The party subsequently did not select a replacement mayoral candidate. [6]

A major talking point in the lead up to the election was the potential of a clash with the 1953 Royal Tour. [7] There were proposals to postpone local elections until early 1954 over fears of reduced turnout due to a conflicted schedule. The proposals were considered by the Minister of Internal Affairs William Bodkin, who ultimately decided against it. [8]

Mayoralty results

1953 Auckland mayoral election [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent John Luxford 20,201 51.06
Independent John Allum 18,63347.09−2.60
Informal votes7271.83+1.43
Majority1,5683.96
Turnout 39,561

Councillor results

1953 Auckland local election [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens & Ratepayers Fred Ambler 15,97242.61−6.91
Citizens & Ratepayers Barbara Roche15,32940.8911.46
United Independents Dove-Myer Robinson 15,17540.48
Labour Mary Dreaver 14,74439.33
Labour Bill Butler14,68239.16−1.19
Citizens & Ratepayers Andrew Percy Postlewaite14,40338.42
United Independents Bruce Barnett14,27038.07
Labour Agnes Dodd13,73536.64+0.74
Citizens & Ratepayers Keith Buttle 13,52436.08−5.39
Citizens & Ratepayers John Whittaker12,80534.16−2.75
United Independents Eric Armishaw 12,71033.90
Citizens & Ratepayers Tom Bloodworth 12,55733.50
Citizens & Ratepayers Reg Savory 12,55333.48
Labour Pat Curran 12,29132.79
Citizens & Ratepayers Charles Bailey12,09132.25
United Independents Ken Cumberland 12,02732.08
Labour Alex Dreaver 11,69631.20
Labour George Forsyth 11,68531.17
United Independents Vern Dyson11,66131.11
Citizens & Ratepayers Howard Hunter11,45930.57−7.83
Labour James Neil Bradley11,43130.49
Citizens & Ratepayers Edna Mackay11,32130.20
Labour Ronald Akersten11,10329.62
Labour Paul Richardson11,09629.60−4.95
Citizens & Ratepayers John Upton10,97629.28
United Independents Vernon Brown10,83228.89
Labour John Albert Mason10,80728.83
United Independents Maxwell Francis Constable10,80428.82
Labour Alexander Grant10,54528.13
Labour Edith Williams10,45227.88
Labour Norman Finch10,38027.69
United Independents Mary Jackson10,36427.64
Labour Cyril Keeling10,23727.31
Labour Frederick Johnston10,23627.30
Citizens & Ratepayers Howard Moncrieff Bagnall10,18127.16
Labour John Henry Weaver10,17027.13−5.80
Citizens & Ratepayers Geoffrey Richard Keenan10,16527.11
Citizens & Ratepayers Robert Clive Haszard10,13827.04
Citizens & Ratepayers Harold Barry10,09126.92−9.53
United Independents Catherine King10,01226.71
Labour John Arthur Roebuck10,01226.71
Citizens & Ratepayers Bob Beechy9,93026.49−9.02
United Independents Aubrey Tronson9,86826.32−8.52
Labour Walter Ernest Watson9,81026.17
Labour William Thomas Elsdon9,67225.80
United Independents Trenthsm Charles Webster9,48525.30
Citizens & Ratepayers James Stewart Matthews9,45725.23
Labour Arthur William Punchard9,41025.10−4.46
United Independents Robert Dunsmuir9,34424.92
United Independents Thomas James Sprott9,18724.50
Citizens & Ratepayers Ralph Howard Exton9,12724.34
Independent Geoffrey Myers8,95423.88
Citizens & Ratepayers Gavin Lishman8,90523.75
United Independents Alfred Edward Knight8,72023.26
Citizens & Ratepayers Ian Norman Watkin8,70123.21
United Independents Gideon Rodger8,44222.52
Labour Norman King 8,38422.36−12.92
United Independents William Murray Wilson8,28522.10
United Independents George Edward Wilding8,03721.44
United Independents Stanley Edward Burke7,89321.05
United Independents Annabel Kathleen Etherington7,58120.22
United Independents Scott Walton7,42019.79
United Independents Murray Lennan7,24819.33
Independent Mary Wright6,32716.87−22.23
Independent Caroline Margaret Bennett5,06513.51
Independent Richard Armstrong3,85510.28−3.32
Independent James MacLean2,5996.93
Independent George Mullenger2,3126.16−6.49
Communist Alexander Drennan 1,9755.26−1.58
Independent Colin Campbell Biernacki1,8835.02
Independent Amy Milburn1,8744.99−3.44
Communist Bill Andersen 1,8174.84
Communist Rita Smith 1,6444.38−2.23
Communist Donald McEwan1,6124.30−2.56
Communist August Smith1,0502.80
Communist Alec Rait8462.25−1.09

Notes

  1. ↑ "Mr Luxford To Be City's Next Mayor". The New Zealand Herald. 23 November 1953. p. 6.
  2. ↑ Edgar 2012.
  3. ↑ "Mayoralty of Auckland - Candidature of Mr J. S. Stewart, M.P." The Press . Vol. LXXXIX, no. 27015. 15 April 1953. p. 11.
  4. ↑ "Auckland Local Body Polls - Labour to Contest All Seats". The Press . Vol. LXXXIX, no. 27052. 29 May 1953. p. 3.
  5. ↑ "Personal Items". The Press . Vol. LXXXIX, no. 27091. 14 July 1953. p. 8.
  6. ↑ "Auckland City Mayoralty - Labour Suspends Candidate - No Substitute to be Offered". The Press . Vol. LXXXIX, no. 27165. 8 October 1953. p. 13.
  7. ↑ "Move to Postpone Next Municipal Elections". The Evening Post . 18 October 1952.
  8. ↑ "Local Elections Date Fixed". The Evening Post . 28 January 1953.
  9. 1 2 "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. 16 November 1953. p. 16.

References

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