1998 Invercargill mayoral election

1998 Invercargill mayoral election

←  1995 10 October 1998 2001 →
Turnout	26,651
Candidate Tim Shadbolt David Harrington Marion Miller Party Independent Independent Independent Popular vote 13,805 8,052 3,899 Percentage 51.79 30.21 14.62
Mayor before election David Harrington Elected mayor Tim Shadbolt

A mayoral election was held in Invercargill on 10 October 1998 as part of the 1998 New Zealand local elections, and was conducted under the First Past the Post system.

Background

Former mayor Tim Shadbolt reclaimed the mayoralty he lost to David Harrington in the previous election. This was the beginning of a decades-long stint as mayor for Shadbolt. ^[1] Shadbolt had considered contesting the Queenstown mayoralty before deciding to run in Invercargill again. ^[2] Shadbolt once campaigned on Esk Street standing on a literal Lux soapbox. ^[3] Harrington cleared out his desk two days before the election, apparently resigned to his impending loss. ^[4]

Polling

Poll source	Date	David Harrington	Tim Shadbolt
The Southland Times [4]	October 1998	28.5%	45.6%

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1998 Invercargill mayoral election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Tim Shadbolt	13,805	51.79	+26.51
	Independent	David Harrington	8,052	30.21	−25.64
	Independent	Marion Miller	3,899	14.62
	Independent	Allan Johnstone	392	1.47
	Independent	Barry Hodge	383	1.43	+0.22
	Independent	James Stapleforth	120	0.45
Majority			5,753	21.58
Turnout			26,651

References

1. "Tim Shadbolt among new Knights and Dames as New Year Honours recognise outstanding Kiwis". 1News . 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
2. Nixon, Tina (9 January 1998). "Shadbolt to contest city mayoralty". The Southland Times.
3. "Different strokes". The Southland Times. 3 October 1998.
4. Madgwick, Paul (9 October 1998). "Harrington resigned to losing mayoralty". The Southland Times.
5. "Election '98". The Southland Times. 12 October 1998. p. 3.