2001 Christchurch mayoral election

2001 Christchurch mayoral election

←  1998 13 October 2001 2004  →

Candidate Garry Moore George Balani Gordon Freeman Party Christchurch 2021 Independent Independent Citizens Popular vote 47,142 30,149 14,213 Percentage 42.55 27.21 12.83

Mayor before election Garry Moore Elected Mayor Garry Moore

The 2001 Christchurch mayoral election was part of the 2001 New Zealand local elections. Incumbent Garry Moore beat talk back radio and television host George Balani.

Background

On 13 October of that year, elections were held for the Mayor of Christchurch plus other local government roles. Despite predictions for a close race, incumbent Moore successfully contested a second term in office with a decisive majority. ^[1] The second-placed candidate, Balani, was 17,000 votes (15%) behind Moore. ^[2] Two former Christchurch City Councillors, Gordon Freeman and Robin Booth, came third and fourth. ^[1]

Moore's main challenger, Balani, had a high profile as a talk back radio and television host; for many years, Balani had a show on Canterbury Television (CTV). A total of 14 candidates contested the 2001 mayoralty in Christchurch. ^[3] Freeman was a city councillor for 15 years until he stood for mayor only in the 1998 mayoralty. Booth went into the election as a sitting member of Christchurch City Council. ^[4]

Results

2001 Christchurch mayoral election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Christchurch 2021	Garry Moore	47,142	42.55
	Independent	George Balani	30,149	27.21
	Independent Citizens	Gordon Freeman	14,213	12.83
	True Independent	Robin Booth	6,421	5.80
	Independent	Aaron Keown	4,422	3.99
	Independent	Penny Hargreaves	2,036	1.84
	Somebody Who Cares	Bill Greenwood	1,327	1.20
	Criminal Reform in Motion	Shane Turner	971	0.88
	The Party Party	Andrew Brown	461	0.42
	Independent	Sugra Morley	429	0.39
	Communist League	Annalucia Vermunt	368	0.33
	Libertarianz	Robin McCarthy	321	0.29
	www.chchratepayers.com	Paul Telfer	297	0.27
	Economic Euthenics	Michael Hansen	195	0.18
Informal votes			2,050	1.85
Majority			16,993	15.34
Turnout			110,802

Moore, Balani and Freeman stood for mayor only. Robin Booth also stood for city councillor in the two-representative Shirley Ward, but came third and was thus defeated. ^[5] Aaron Keown, who came fifth in the election, was later a Christchurch City Councillor from 2010 for one three-year term. ^{[6] [7]} Moore remained mayor until the 2007 election, when he decided not to stand again. ^[8]

References

1. "Moore returns in Christchurch vote". The New Zealand Herald . 13 October 2001. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
2. "Final Results Mayor". Christchurch City Council . Retrieved 6 May 2016.
3. "Rivals face to face in mayoral clash". The New Zealand Herald . 25 August 2001. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
4. "Mixed bunch contest ChCh mayoralty". One News . 27 August 2001. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
5. "Final Results Shirley Ward". Christchurch City Council . Retrieved 6 May 2016.
6. "Carter goes top of Christchurch council class". Stuff.co.nz . 29 July 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
7. Thomas, Fiona (13 November 2013). "Ex-Chch city councillor encourages Facebook abuse". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 7 May 2016.
8. Macfie, Rebecca (27 October 2007). "Citizen Moore". New Zealand Listener . Retrieved 7 May 2016.