Christchurch mayoral election, 1935

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Christchurch mayoral election, 1935
Chch COA.JPG
← 19338 May 1935 1936  →

  Daniel Giles Sullivan (1941).jpg Hugh Acland (1940).jpg
Candidate Dan Sullivan Hugh Acland
Party Labour Citizens' Association
Popular vote 20,066 19,737
Percentage 50.41 49.59
Mayor before election

Dan Sullivan

Elected Mayor

Dan Sullivan

The Christchurch City mayoral election, 1935 was held on 8 May 1935. The incumbent, Dan Sullivan of the Labour Party narrowly beat the conservative candidate, Hugh Acland, a surgeon and World War I veteran. The election attracted nationwide attention, as Christchurch was a Labour-stronghold and due to Acland's widespread popularity, it was regarded as a test whether Labour could potentially win the November 1935 general election.

Dan Sullivan (New Zealand politician) New Zealand politician

Daniel Giles Sullivan was a New Zealand Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and Mayor of Christchurch.

The New Zealand Labour Party, or simply Labour, is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers describe Labour as social-democratic and pragmatic in practice. It is a participant of the international Progressive Alliance.

Hugh Acland (surgeon) New Zealand surgeon

Sir Hugh Thomas Dyke Acland was a prominent New Zealand surgeon.

Contents

Background

In 1935, the voting system returned to the initially used first-past-the-post after a ranked voting system had been tried for some years. [1] The country experienced the Great Depression at the time, with high unemployment. Sullivan had been the city's mayor since 1931, when he beat William Hayward. [1]

First-past-the-post voting voting system in which voters select one candidate, and the candidate who receives more votes than any other candidate wins

A first-past-the-post electoral system is one in which voters indicate on a ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins. This is sometimes described as winner takes all. First-past-the-post voting is a plurality voting method. FPTP is a common, but not universal, feature of electoral systems with single-member electoral divisions, and is practiced in close to one third of countries. Notable examples include Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as most of their current or former colonies and protectorates.

Great Depression 20th-century worldwide economic depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late-1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the world's economy can decline.

William Hayward was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 22 June 1934 to 21 June 1941, when his term ended. He was appointed by the United/Reform Coalition Government.

Candidates

Dan Sullivan

Dan Sullivan was first elected to Christchurch City Council in 1915. He had first stood for the House of Representatives in the 1908 election and in 1919, he decisively beat the Minister of Public Health, George Warren Russell, in the wake of the 1918 flu epidemic. Since then, Sullivan had been representing the Avon electorate. Sullivan stood for mayor in 1923 but was beaten by James Arthur Flesher. A Labour Party politician, he was regarded as a moderate. [2]

Christchurch City Council local government authority for Christchurch, Canterbury in New Zealand

The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the 388,400 people of Christchurch. Since October 2013, the Mayor of Christchurch is Lianne Dalziel, who succeeded Bob Parker. The council currently consists of 16 councillors elected from sixteen wards, and is presided over by the Mayor, who is elected at large. The number of elected members and ward boundaries changed prior during the 2016 election.

New Zealand House of Representatives Sole chamber of New Zealand Parliament

The New Zealand House of Representatives is a component of the New Zealand Parliament, along with the Sovereign. The House passes all laws, provides ministers to form a Cabinet, and supervises the work of the Government. It is also responsible for adopting the state's budgets and approving the state's accounts.

Hugh Acland

Sir Hugh Acland was from a prominent Canterbury family. The youngest of John Acland's 11 children, he was a grandson of Christchurch's first bishop, Henry Harper. [3] John Acland was a member of the Legislative Council for a third of a century. [4] Just prior to the election, the engagement of his son Jack was announced to Kit Ormond; [5] her family was equally prominent in New Zealand, and her grandfather, John Davies Ormond, had been Superintendent of Hawke's Bay Province. [6] Hugh Acland was a prominent surgeon who served with the New Zealand Medical Corps during World War I. [3] Acland was knighted in the 1933 Birthday Honours for services to medicine. [7] Acland stood in the election for the conservative Citizens' Association. [8]

Canterbury, New Zealand Region of New Zealand in South Island

Canterbury is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of 44,508 square kilometres (17,185 sq mi), and is home to a population of 624,000.

John Acland (politician) New Zealand farmer

John Barton Arundel Acland, often referred to as JBA Acland or J.B.A. Acland, was born in Devon, England as the youngest child of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet. He followed his father’s path of education and became a barrister in London. With his colleague and friend Charles George Tripp, he formed the plan to emigrate to Canterbury, New Zealand, to take up sheep farming. They were the first to take up land in the Canterbury high country for this purpose. When they divided their land into separate holdings, Acland kept the 100,000 acres (400 km2) that made up the Mount Peel station.

Henry Harper (bishop) Primate of New Zealand; Bishop of Christchurch; British-born Anglican colonial bishop

Henry John Chitty Harper was an Anglican bishop in the second half of the 19th century.

Campaign

Sullivan's selection for the 1935 mayoralty election was announced on 1 February. [9] John Beanland and Ernest Andrews were rumoured as possible candidates for the Citizens' Association, [10] but Acland's candidacy was announced on 25 February. [11] [12]

John Beanland New Zealand mayor

John Walton Beanland was a building contractor and Mayor of Christchurch from 1936 to 1938.

Ernest Andrews New Zealand mayor

Sir Ernest Herbert Andrews was Mayor of Christchurch from 1941 until his retirement in 1950. He had served continuously on Christchurch City Council since 1919.

Results

Sullivan beat Acland by a small margin, with the election resulting in a record turnout. There were significant differences between the preliminary results released on the evening of the election, and the final results three days later. [13]

Christchurch mayoral election, 1935 [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour Dan Sullivan 20,066 50.41
Citizens' Association Hugh Acland 19,737 49.59
Majority 329 0.83
Turnout 39,803

The Labour Party won the general election in November 1935 and Sullivan was appointed cabinet minister. Sullivan reluctantly resigned from the mayoralty in February 1936, as the heavy workload of a cabinet minister was incompatible with remaining mayor. [2] [14] The resulting by-election on 11 March 1936 was narrowly won by the deputy-mayor, John Beanland, who represented the Citizens' Association. [15] [16] Beanland beat Labour's candidate, John Archer who had previously been mayor from 1925 to 1931. [17]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "The Municipal Elections". The Press . LXXI (21423). 15 March 1935. p. 19. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 Watson, James. "Sullivan, Daniel Giles". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  3. 1 2 Maling, Peter B. "Acland, Hugh Thomas Dyke". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  4. ↑ McLintock, A. H., ed. (22 April 2009) [originally published in 1966]. "Acland, John Barton Arundel". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "News For Women". The Press . LXXI (21399). 15 February 1935. p. 2. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Boyd, Mary. "Ormond, John Davies". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Welch 2015, p. 35.
  8. ↑ "The Municipal Elections". The Press . LXXI (21424). 16 March 1935. p. 20. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Mr Sullivan for Mayoralty". The Press . LXXI (21387). 1 February 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Candidates for Mayoralty". The Press . LXXI (21388). 2 February 1935. p. 16. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Mayoralty". The Press . LXXI (21407). 25 February 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Sir Hugh Acland to stand". The Press . LXXI (21407). 25 February 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  13. 1 2 "The Elections". The Press . LXXI (21471). 13 May 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "By-Elections for Council". The Press . LXXI (21647). 4 December 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "The By-Election". The Press . LXXII (21730). 12 March 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Mayor's Reduced Majority". The Press . LXXII (21732). 14 March 1936. p. 18. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  17. ↑ "City Council Election". The Press . LXXII (21701). 7 February 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 20 May 2016.

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References

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