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| Turnout | 30,962 (47.6%) | |||||||||||||||
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The 1965 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1965, 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.
There was a rift within the Citizens' Association over their selected candidate for the mayoralty, Matt Benney. Benney was a first term councillor and formerly a reputable civil servant, serving as Under-secretary for Mines from 1940 until he retired in 1959. Benney was chosen as the Citizens' nominee for the mayoralty by the association's executive, but he withdrew his nomination after it became clear that a sizeable majority of sitting Citizens' councillors instead favoured deputy-mayor Denis McGrath. [1] After Benney's declination, councillor Noel Manthel was then proposed as a compromise candidate, but he declined backing McGrath instead. However McGrath declined to stand for mayor and offered himself only for the council. [2] As the deadline for nominations neared a deputation of over 50 businessmen and Citizens' candidates asked Benney to again accept both the nomination and deputy-mayoralty, to which he agreed. [3]
Kitts attracted criticism for insisting on standing for the council as well as the mayoralty. He had done so in the previous five elections (winning the mayoralty in the last three) but with both his large majority in the previous election combined with the frictions within the Citizens' Association, Kitts was expected to win the mayoralty comfortably. Labour supporters thought he should make way for another candidate on the council ticket and reduce the number of wasted votes that would be caused on an inevitable dual election. [4] The Labour Party duly won more votes than the Citizens' Association for the council, including over 18,000 for Kitts, though this only translated into one extra council seat, still leaving the council with a Citizens' majority. [5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Frank Kitts | 17,783 | 57.43 | -3.75 | |
| Citizens' | Matt Benney | 11,966 | 38.64 | ||
| United Action | Saul Goldsmith | 1,031 | 3.32 | -4.11 | |
| Informal votes | 182 | 0.58 | -0.07 | ||
| Majority | 5,817 | 18.78 | -9.53 | ||
| Turnout | 30,962 | 47.6 | +1.2 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Frank Kitts [nb 1] | 18,059 | 58.32 | +3.33 | |
| Labour | Rolland O'Regan | 16,729 | 54.03 | ||
| Citizens' | Matt Benney | 16,606 | 53.63 | +13.60 | |
| Labour | John Jeffries | 15,678 | 50.63 | +12.33 | |
| Labour | Olive Smuts-Kennedy | 15,294 | 49.39 | ||
| Citizens' | Maida Clark | 14,914 | 48.16 | +4.06 | |
| Citizens' | Bob Archibald | 14,332 | 46.28 | +0.06 | |
| Citizens' | Alice Campbell | 14,013 | 45.25 | +1.24 | |
| Citizens' | Denis McGrath | 13,991 | 45.18 | +1.36 | |
| Citizens' | Stewart Duff | 13,451 | 43.44 | -0.44 | |
| Citizens' | George Porter | 12,767 | 41.23 | +3.10 | |
| Citizens' | John Turk | 12,376 | 39.97 | +0.20 | |
| Citizens' | Gordon Morrison | 12,305 | 39.74 | +2.09 | |
| Labour | Gerald O'Brien | 12,257 | 39.58 | +6.10 | |
| Citizens' | William Scollay | 12,095 | 39.06 | ||
| Labour | Keith Spry | 11,962 | 38.63 | ||
| Labour | Peter Butler | 11,939 | 38.56 | ||
| Labour | Willis Livingstone Combs | 11,458 | 37.00 | ||
| Labour | Percival Hansen | 11,368 | 36.71 | +6.55 | |
| Citizens' | Terry Dunleavy | 11,202 | 36.17 | ||
| Citizens' | Roy Parsons | 10,861 | 35.07 | ||
| Citizens' | Shirley Rowe | 10,358 | 33.45 | ||
| Labour | Edward Hill | 10,305 | 33.28 | ||
| Labour | Gwendrith Elsie Haine | 10,209 | 32.97 | ||
| Labour | William Rose | 10,050 | 32.45 | ||
| Citizens' | William Haydon | 10,026 | 32.38 | ||
| Labour | Charles Troughton | 9,761 | 31.52 | ||
| Labour | Roland Howell | 9,677 | 31.25 | +3.58 | |
| Labour | Alexander Schiff | 9,399 | 30.35 | ||
| Citizens' | Oscar Bergh | 8,700 | 28.09 | ||
| Independent | Max Wall | 5,585 | 18.03 | ||
| United Action | Saul Goldsmith | 4,548 | 14.68 | -10.26 | |
| United Action | Frank Tickner | 3,885 | 12.54 | -6.28 | |
| United Action | Harold Fownes | 2,802 | 9.04 | ||
| United Action | Ron Brierley | 2,791 | 9.01 | -2.84 | |
| United Action | Nancy Horrocks | 2,710 | 8.75 | ||
| United Action | Peter Madden | 2,691 | 8.69 | ||
| United Action | Alice Coe | 2,625 | 8.47 | -2.09 | |
| United Action | Lindsay Buick-Constable | 2,557 | 8.25 | ||
| United Action | Oliver Goldsmith | 2,421 | 7.81 | ||
| United Action | Nancy La Coste | 2,323 | 7.50 | ||
| United Action | Barry Michael | 2,014 | 6.50 | ||
| United Action | Carlyle Edwards | 2,012 | 6.49 | -2.42 | |
| United Action | Maurice de Woolf | 1,947 | 6.28 | ||
| United Action | William Crowe | 1,749 | 5.64 | ||
| Independent | William Rea | 1,689 | 5.45 | ||
| United Action | William Woolhouse | 1,610 | 5.19 | ||
| Independent | Philip Cossham | 1,588 | 5.12 | ||
| United Action | Evan Collett | 1,500 | 4.84 | ||
| United Action | Patrick Fee | 1,342 | 4.33 | -2.04 | |
| Communist | Ralph Gooderidge | 1,068 | 3.44 | ||
| Communist | Ron Smith | 1,017 | 3.28 | -1.01 | |
Table footnotes:
Sir Francis Joseph Kitts was a New Zealand politician. Originally from the South Island, he served in the military and later was a civil servant before entering politics with the Labour Party. He was the Member of Parliament for Wellington Central between 1954 and 1960. He was also the longest-serving Mayor of Wellington, holding the post from 1956 to 1974. He was also a member at various times of several other local bodies and was still an elected official at his death.
Sir Robert Lachlan Macalister was the Mayor of Wellington from 1950 to 1956, and had been the acting mayor for five months in 1948 during the absence overseas of Will Appleton.
The 1913 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1913, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors. David McLaren, the incumbent Mayor, was defeated by John Luke by a relatively narrow margin, becoming the new Mayor of Wellington. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.
The 1921 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1921, 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.
The 1933 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1933, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including the fifteen city councillors, also elected biannually. Thomas Hislop, the incumbent Mayor sought re-election and retained office unopposed with no other candidates emerging. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.
The 1941 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1941, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington and fifteen city councillors plus seats on the Wellington Hospital Board and Wellington Harbour Board. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.
The 1944 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1944, election 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.
The Wellington Citizens' Association, was a right-leaning local body electoral ticket in Wellington, New Zealand. It was formed in 1911 by merging the selection process of council candidates of several civic interest groups and business lobby groups. Its main ambitions were to continue to control the Wellington City Council, reduce local spending and deny left-leaning Labour Party candidates being elected.
Ernest Richard Toop was a New Zealand politician and businessman.
The 1947 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1947, election 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.
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.
The 1956 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1956, 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.
The 1959 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1959, 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.
The 1962 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1962, 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.
The 1914 Wellington City mayoral by-election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.
The 1968 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1968, 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.
For the Canadian–American screenwriter and producer, see Denis McGrath.
John Gibbs Churchill was a New Zealand trade unionist and local politician. For six years he was the mayor of Otaki.
Cecil Henry "Matt" Benney was a New Zealand civil servant and politician.
The 1949 Lower Hutt mayoral by-election was held to elect a successor to Ernst Peterson Hay who resigned as Mayor of Lower Hutt upon his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.
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