1971 Wellington mayoral election

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1971 Wellington mayoral election
Wellington CoA (shield only).svg
  1968 9 October 1971 1974  
Turnout31,599 (44.30%)
  Frank Kitts, 1954.jpg Alexander Paterson O'Shea.jpg
CandidateSir Frank Kitts Alex O'Shea
Party Labour Citizens'
Popular vote20,1469,915
Percentage63.7531.37

Mayor before election

Sir Frank Kitts
Labour

Elected mayor

Sir Frank Kitts
Labour

The 1971 Wellington mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1971, 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

The election saw incumbent Mayor Sir Frank Kitts re-elected for a record equaling sixth term as Wellington's Mayor, defeating his main opponent, former New Zealand Farmers' Union chairman Alex O'Shea. The Citizens' Association has difficulty in selecting its mayoral candidate with many speculating that it would not opt to contest the position, leading commentators to label them as "defeatist". [1] Deputy mayor George Porter was approached to stand, but declined the nomination for "personal reasons", offering himself only for a council seat. [2] Eventually O'Shea was chosen by the Citizens' Association executive over two other undisclosed aspirants.

The election also saw a third electoral ticket emerge "Civic Reform", who would unsuccessfully challenge the two-ticket system that had dominated Wellington's local body politics since the 1930s. Civic Reform also contested the 1974 and 1977 local elections with even less success.

The main talking point following the election was that the initial results showed that the Labour Party had won a majority on the council, the first time they had done so. However, following the counting of special votes the fifteenth highest (last successful) polling candidate, Labour's Joe Aspell, lost his seat to Citizens' candidate Ian Lawrence (a future Mayor) after a 23-vote lead became a 17-vote defeat thus leaving the state of parties at 8–7 in favour of the Citizens' Association. [3]

Mayoralty results

1971 Wellington mayoral election [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Sir Frank Kitts 20,146 63.75 −1.42
Citizens' Alex O'Shea 9,91531.37
Civic ReformDonald McMillain1,2553.97
Informal votes2830.89−0.02
Majority 10,23132.37+1.11
Turnout 31,59944.30−3.20

Councillor results

1971 Wellington City Council election [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Rolland O'Regan 18,648 59.01 −3.54
Labour John Jeffries 18,541 58.67 −1.31
Labour Olive Smuts-Kennedy 17,911 56.68 +0.11
Citizens' Stewart Duff 16,345 51.72 −4.88
Citizens' George Porter 16,117 51.00 −8.66
Citizens' Betty Campbell 15,564 49.25 +1.14
Labour David Shand 14,488 45.84
Labour Keith Spry 14,004 44.31 −1.11
Citizens' Michael Fowler 13,570 42.94 +1.15
Citizens' Denis Foot 13,270 41.99
Labour Brian O'Brien 13,083 41.40
Citizens' Les Chapman 12,789 40.47 −6.66
Citizens' Ron Button 12,603 39.88 −2.30
Labour Warwick McKean 12,251 38.77
Citizens' Ian Lawrence 11,953 37.82
Labour Joe Aspell11,93637.77
Citizens' Fairlie Curry11,69537.01
Citizens' Reg Fyfe11,48436.34
Citizens' Nancy Horrocks11,28035.69
Labour Norm Bevan11,26935.66
Citizens' Bernard Kaiser11,01834.86
Citizens' Hollis Reed10,89434.47−9.31
Labour Pat Brockie10,78934.14
Labour Florence Vincent10,31432.64−4.70
Citizens' George Madgwick10,68733.82−1.71
Labour Yvonne Grove9,85431.18−6.37
Citizens' Peter Robertson9,74730.84
Labour Donovan Walker9,47529.98
Labour Adam Floyd8,70727.55
Labour Hannah Harwood8,63327.32
Independent Saul Goldsmith 6,05019.14+2.00
Civic ReformBill O'Brien4,54714.38
Civic ReformDon McMillain3,82912.11+2.58
Independent Donald Young3,40810.78
Civic ReformAota Leilua2,7238.61
Civic ReformCatherine Stafford2,7208.60
Civic ReformRon England2,6378.34
Civic ReformDon McPherson2,2147.00
Civic ReformVao Teo2,0406.45
Independent Italo Vincent John Comis1,8865.96
Civic ReformDonald Ross1,6135.10
Civic ReformColin Percy1,6115.09
Civic ReformCarl Edwards1,5634.94
Civic ReformDes Lena1,5194.80
Civic ReformAlan Ogden1,3804.36
Civic ReformJoseph Pratt1,2523.96
Independent Frank Moncur1,0553.33
Civic ReformJohn Pell9563.02
Civic ReformRob Simmons7582.39

References

  1. "Nobody for mayor". The Dominion . 27 April 1971.
  2. "Cr Porter Won't Stand For Mayor". The Evening Post . 5 June 1971.
  3. "Sir Francis Holds Ace After Special Votes Displace A Labour Man". The Evening Post . 22 October 1971.
  4. 1 2 Petersen, G.A. (19 October 1971). Declaration of Election Results (Report). Wellington City Council.