List of by-elections to the Wellington City Council

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By-elections to the Wellington City Council occur to fill vacant seats in the City Council. The death, resignation, bankruptcy or expulsion of a sitting councillor can cause a by-election to occur. By-elections were particularly frequent in the 1980s and 1990s but have become a rarity in recent years with only three occurring since 2000.

Contents

Background

Local by-elections normally have lower turnouts than full local body elections. A noted case occurred in 1960 when a vacancy triggered a by-election which had a turnout of only 7.7% of voters, prompting Mayor Frank Kitts to label the light turnout a "deplorable state of affairs" as "...there were responsible and worthwhile citizens who were prepared to devote their time and money in service to the people". [1] By-elections on the city council were on occasion deferred if a substantial majority of the council agreed to fill the vacancy by appointment, resulting in the highest polling unsuccessful candidate at the previous election being appointed to the council unless there is a public demand for a poll to be held (known as extraordinary vacancies). This arrangement has happened several times such as in 1973 when Olive Smuts-Kennedy resigned her seat and Seton Nossiter was appointed to replace her, in 1979 when Irvine Yardley resigned and was replaced with Tala Cleverley after several higher polling candidates declined the appointment, [2] and in 1985 when Leone Harkness resigned and her council seat which was taken by Bruce Harris. [3]

Two mayors first entered the Council via by-elections; John Luke (in 1905) and Celia Wade-Brown (in 1994).

List

Between 1901 and 1986 municipal elections in Wellington were conducted at-large. [4] Since 1986 municipal elections in Wellington have been held via a Wards system of local electoral districts. [5] The following is a list of by-elections held to fill vacancies on the Wellington City Council:

Key

  Independent   Labour   Citizens'   Green
WardDateIncumbentCauseWinner
At-large15 August 1904David NathanResignationFolk Cohen
At-large31 August 1905George WiltshireDeath John Luke
At-large27 April 1906Arthur GibbsResignationJohn Smith
At-large8 September 1910James DevineDeath William Barber
Thomas BallingerResignationWilliam Thompson
At-large17 May 1912 David McLaren Elected as Mayor Edward Tregear
At-large17 September 1920George FrostDeath William Gaudin
At-large18 July 1922Sydney UnderwoodDeathAlexander Parton
At-large22 July 1926 Alec Monteith Resignation John Glover
At-large30 November 1927John CaughleyResignationCharlton Morpeth
At-large29 June 1933Frank MeadowcroftDeath Peter Fraser
At-large4 November 1936William BennettDeath John Read
At-large2 November 1949 Frederick Furkert Death Berkeley Dallard
At-large3 February 1955Stewart HardyResignation Allan Highet
At-large10 September 1960Mervyn CastleDeathBob Archibald
At-large15 November 1969William ScollayResignationLes Chapman
John TurkHollis Reed
Otari9 May 1987 Rosemary Young-Rouse ResignationLes Stephens
Karori11 July 1987Gavin WilsonResignation Arthur Kinsella
Southern11 March 1989Neville TaylorResignationRod Murphy
Southern27 April 1991 John Blincoe ResignationMargaret Bonner
Onslow30 April 1994David BullResignation Judy Siers
SouthernMerrin DowningResignation Celia Wade-Brown
Southern2 November 1996John GilberthorpeResignationBryan Pepperell
Northern22 March 1997Sally BaberResignationJack Ruben
Eastern29 April 2000 Sue Kedgley Resignation Ray Ahipene-Mercer
Southern22 December 2017 Paul Eagle Resignation Fleur Fitzsimons
Lambton17 February 2024 Tamatha Paul ResignationGeordie Rogers

Results

1904 by-election

1904 Wellington City Council by-election [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Folk Cohen 877 41.64
Ind. Labour League William Hampton41319.61−12.62
Independent George Baylis35716.95−16.10
Independent Robert Henry Davenport23010.92−43.29
Independent Francis Loudon22910.87
Majority 46422.03
Turnout 2,10617.20

1905 by-election

1905 Wellington City Council by-election [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent John Luke 1,706 41.91
Ind. Labour League William Noot74518.30
Independent George Baylis72317.76−18.19
Independent Arthur Fullford48711.96−20.60
Independent Nicholas McGuiness2776.80
Independent Mathew Henry Biggs1323.24
Majority 96123.61
Turnout 4,07019.75

1906 by-election

1906 Wellington City Council by-election [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent John Smith 759 28.18
Independent Richard Keene58621.76−7.63
Independent Martin Luckie 33012.25−18.22
Ind. Labour League John Ball2669.87
Independent Thomas Wardell2168.02
Independent William J. Branigan1977.31−15.20
Independent Alex Rand1405.19−26.14
Independent Henry Fielder1264.67
Independent William James Gray823.04
Majority 1736.42
Turnout 2,69313.30

1910 by-election

1910 Wellington City Council by-election [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens League William Henry Peter Barber 2,318 43.84
Citizens League William Thompson 1,468 27.76
Independent James Moran1,22123.09
Labour Michael Reardon 1,19822.65+0.01
Independent James Godber1,18422.39
Labour Elijah Carey 1,11221.03−1.00
Independent Henry Hampton Rayward70413.31
Independent Sydney George Nathan5169.75
Independent James Speed5089.60
Independent Ernest Coleridge4588.66
Independent Vilhelm Jensen4578.64−4.96
Independent Arthur Harry Fulford2975.61
Independent Andrew Hornblow2134.02
Majority 2474.67
Turnout 5,28716.46

1912 by-election

1912 Wellington City Council by-election [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
United Labour Edward Tregear 4,487 53.16
Citizens League William Thompson3,69443.76+8.86
Independent Arthur Fulford2593.06
Majority 7939.39
Turnout 8,44027.13

1920 by-election

1920 Wellington City Council by-election [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens League William Gaudin 5,159 63.87 +24.91
Labour Tom Brindle 2,91736.13−3.62
Majority 2,23927.73
Turnout 8,07324.13

1922 by-election

1922 Wellington City Council by-election, [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens League Alexander Parton 5,743 56.82 +22.67
Labour John Glover 4,14741.03+9.87
Independent Patrick Cavanagh2172.14−4.07
Majority 1,59615.79
Turnout 10,10723.95

1926 by-election

1926 Wellington City Council by-election [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour John Glover 2,114 53.03 +18.52
Civic League William Gaudin 1,84546.28
Informal votes270.67
Majority 2696.74
Turnout 3,9869.03

1927 by-election

Ballot paper for the 1927 by-election Wellington City Council by-election, 1927.jpg
Ballot paper for the 1927 by-election
1927 Wellington City Council by-election [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Civic League Charlton Morpeth 3,738 54.52 +22.44
Labour John Glover 3,09645.16+5.74
Informal votes210.30
Majority 6429.36
Turnout 6,85515.33

1933 by-election

1933 Wellington City Council by-election [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Peter Fraser 11,607 48.64
Citizens' Robert Wright 11,28847.31
Independent John Castle5172.16
Communist Richard Webb3111.30−13.81
Informal votes1360.57
Majority 3191.33
Turnout 23,85942.94

1936 by-election

1936 Wellington City Council by-election [16] [17]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour John Read 10,032 49.29 +5.89
Citizens' Thomas Forsyth 9,21745.29+1.35
Independent Bruce Mabin9194.51
Informal votes1820.89
Majority 8154.00
Turnout 20,35029.13

1949 by-election

1949 Wellington City Council by-election [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens' Berkeley Dallard 5,271 33.14
Independent Leslie Austin3,37521.21
Independent Stanley Dean 3,29120.69
Independent William Bacon2,96118.61
Independent Thomas Callingham8485.33
Informal votes1590.99
Majority 1,89611.92
Turnout 15,90515.0

1955 by-election

1955 Wellington City Council by-election [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens' Allan Highet 12,464 54.07
Labour Ernie Langford10,48845.50+9.14
Informal votes970.42
Majority 1,9768.57
Turnout 23,04927.0

1960 by-election

1960 Wellington City Council by-election [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Bob Archibald 2,588 37.68 +6.53
Citizens' John Turk2,02829.52−9.54
Labour Charles Troughton1,74125.34−1.70
Independent Annette Griffin2974.32−7.26
Communist Paul Potiki2032.95
Informal votes110.16
Majority 5608.15
Turnout 6,8687.70

1969 by-election

1969 Wellington City Council by-election [21]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens' Les Chapman 6,325 47.13 +8.59
Citizens' Hollis Reed 5,876 43.78 +11.01
Labour Peter Butler 5,15438.40+0.12
Labour Edward Hill 4,88136.37−2.22
Independent Saul Goldsmith 2,30117.14+0.86
Civic ReformDon McMillain1,2809.53−0.78
Independent Harry Hughes1,0217.60−6.19
Majority 7225.38
Turnout 13,41919.80

1987 by-election, Otari Ward

1987 Otari Ward by-election [22] [23]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens' Les Stephens 4,388 49.31
Labour Valerie Taylor3,32637.38
Independent Bob Monks8849.93
Independent Darryl Ward2993.36
Majority 1,06211.93
Turnout 8,89751.23

1987 by-election, Karori Ward

1987 Karori Ward by-election [24] [25]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens' Arthur Kinsella 2,750 56.41
Labour Tracey Crampton-Smith2,12543.59−20.14
Majority 62512.82
Turnout 4,87555.42

1989 by-election, Southern Ward

1989 Southern Ward by-election [26] [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Rod Murphy 1,566 36.79
Citizens' Brian Barraclough1,49635.15
Independent Warwick Taylor78618.46
Independent Owen Henderson4089.58
Majority 701.64
Turnout 4,25635.36

1991 by-election, Southern Ward

1991 Southern Ward by-election [28] [29]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Margaret Bonner 2,492 27.92
Independent Helene Ritchie 1,56417.52
Citizens' Ann Nolan1,40615.75
Green Liz Thomas1,13612.72
NewLabour Jeff Montgomery90310.11
Independent Silvio Bartholomeo Famularo8079.04
Independent Bill Maung2783.11−10.11
People's PartyChristopher Ellis1161.29−8.99
Independent Harry Hughes1101.23
Independent Isiona Harmer971.08
Communist League Patrick Brown150.16
Majority 92810.39
Turnout 8,92443.02

1994 by-election, Onslow Ward

1994 Onslow Ward by-election [30]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Citizens' Judy Siers 1,762 37.33
Independent Helene Ritchie 99721.12
Independent Jill Main92519.60
Alliance Philip Lyth50210.63
Independent Bob Monks3286.95−4.80
McGillicuddy Serious Jonathan Wharton931.97
Independent Alexander Schiff881.86−2.29
Informal votes240.50−3.73
Majority 76516.21
Turnout 4,71945.42

1994 by-election, Southern Ward

1994 Southern Ward by-election [30]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Alliance Greens Celia Wade-Brown 2,42929.61−6.90
Labour Hola Taue2,19726.78
Independent Eddie Mollier1,40417.11
Independent Bryan Pepperell88610.80
Independent Alan Chambers6668.11
Independent John Ulrich3964.82
McGillicuddy Serious John Morrison1842.24
Informal votes400.48−3.79
Majority 2322.82
Turnout 8,20239.54

1996 by-election, Southern Ward

1996 Southern Ward by-election [31]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Bryan Pepperell 2,381 30.51 −7.24
Labour Hola Taue2,32229.76−17.91
Alliance Roland Sapsford 1,34717.26−7.42
Independent Alan Chambers1,11514.29
Independent Jonathan Mosen4415.65
Asia Pacific Mano'o Lutena Mulitalo1962.51
Majority 590.75
Turnout 7,80236.89

1997 by-election, Northern Ward

1997 Northern Ward by-election [32]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Jack Ruben 3,737 33.23
Citizens' Ian Hutchings2,94926.22
Independent Helene Ritchie 2,82025.08
Alliance John Fanning1,45312.92−13.76
Natural Law Penelope Donovan2842.52
Informal votes980.87
Majority 7887.00
Turnout 11,24341.73

2000 by-election, Eastern Ward

2000 Eastern Ward by-election [33]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Ray Ahipene-Mercer 3,034 33.12
Independent Richard Griffin1,69118.46
Christian Democrats Linda Dring9029.84
Independent Jo Morgan8479.24−28.89
Independent Gareth Rapson8439.20
Independent Jack Ruben7388.05
Independent Rama Ramanathan6016.56−22.80
Legalise Cannabis Michael Appleby 2452.67
Independent Phil Sprey1451.58−16.55
McGillicuddy Serious Vince Terreni860.93
Informal votes270.29
Majority 1,34314.66
Turnout 9,15938.50

2017 by-election, Southern Ward

2017 Southern Ward by-election [34]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234567
Labour Fleur Fitzsimons 32.88%2,1552,165 2,174 2,224 2,293 2,454 2,805
Independent Laurie Foon26.29%1,7231,726 1,743 1,775 1,849 2,017 2,473
Independent Vicki Greco24.26%1,5901,595 1,603 1,682 1,707 1,765
Independent Mohamud Mohamed6.61%433448 456 486 569
Independent Merio Marsters4.13%271275 280 295
Independent Rob Goulden3.65%239242 255
Independent Thomas Morgan1.01%6673
Independent Don McDonald0.93%61
Valid: 6538  Spoilt: 13 + 4 blank  Quota: 1st iteration: 3,269; last iteration: 2,639  

    2024 by-election, Lambton Ward

    2024 Lambton Ward by-election [35]
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    123456
    Green Geordie Rogers42.453,6653,676 3,680 3,738 3,809 4,147
    Independent Karl Tiefenbacher42.313,6533,663 3,690 3,791 3,943 4,102
    Independent Ellen Blake6.39552558 567 598 653
    Independent Joan Shi4.20363369 376 418
    Independent Edward Griffiths3.29284287 293
    Independent Zan Rai Gyaw0.716266
    Independent Peter Wakeman0.6153
    Valid: 8,632 (25.47%)  Spoilt: 12  Quota: 4,125  

      Notes

      1. ↑ "Light election poll 'appalling'". The Dominion . 12 September 1960.
      2. ↑ Brown, Karen (15 February 1979). "Tala Cleverley is Ready for the Council". The Evening Post .
      3. ↑ Moran, Paul (16 May 1985). "Harris back on Council". The Dominion .
      4. ↑ Betts 1970, pp. 39.
      5. ↑ "Local elections on ward basis". The Evening Post . 9 October 1984.
      6. ↑ "Extraordinary Vacancy". Free Lance. Vol. V, no. 216. 20 August 1904. p. 14. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
      7. ↑ "City Council Election". The Evening Post . Vol. LXX, no. 54. 1 September 1905. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
      8. ↑ "City Council By-election". The Evening Post . Vol. LXXI, no. 100. 28 April 1906. p. 5. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
      9. ↑ "Election Notices". The Dominion . Vol. 3, no. 918. 10 September 1910. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
      10. ↑ "Labour Wins City Council Elections". Oamaru Mail. Vol. XXXVI, no. 11636. 18 May 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
      11. ↑ "The by-election". The Dominion . Vol. 13, no. 305. 18 September 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
      12. ↑ "Extraordinary Vacancy". The Evening Post . Vol. CIV, no. 17. 20 July 1922. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
      13. ↑ "Win for Labour". The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 20. 23 July 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
      14. ↑ "The by-election". The Evening Post . Vol. CIV, no. 132. 1 December 1927. p. 8. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
      15. ↑ "Labour Win". Auckland Star . Vol. LXIV, no. 152. 30 June 1933. p. 12. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
      16. ↑ "Extraordinary Vacancy". The Evening Post . Vol. CXXII, no. 111. 6 November 1936. p. 2. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
      17. ↑ "Labour Victory". The Evening Post . Vol. CXXII, no. 110. 5 November 1936. p. 10. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
      18. ↑ Coppin, W. S. (9 November 1949). Result of By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
      19. ↑ James, T. W. (10 February 1955). City By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
      20. ↑ James, T. W. (12 September 1960). City By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
      21. ↑ "Final Results of City By-election". The Evening Post . 24 November 1969.
      22. ↑ Bly, Ross (13 July 1987). Otari Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
      23. ↑ "Stephens' clear Otari win gives fillip to Citizens". The Evening Post . 11 May 1987.
      24. ↑ Bly, Ross (13 July 1987). Karori Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
      25. ↑ "Declaration of Result of Election". The Evening Post . 14 July 1987.
      26. ↑ Bly, Ross (13 March 1989). Southern Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
      27. ↑ "Declaration of Result of Election". The Evening Post . 14 March 1989.
      28. ↑ Bly, Ross (29 April 1991). Southern Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
      29. ↑ "Declaration of Result of Election". The Evening Post . 1 May 1991.
      30. 1 2 Murphy, Lyn (2 May 1994). "New Councillors get to work". The Evening Post . p. 3.
      31. ↑ Moran, Paul (4 November 1996). "Pepperell wins council by-election". The Dominion . p. 2.
      32. ↑ Walsh, Rebecca (24 March 1997). "New City Councillor Promises Changes". The Evening Post . p. 1.
      33. ↑ "Environmentalist wins council by-election". The Dominion . 1 May 2000. p. 7.
      34. ↑ Lampp, Warwick (22 December 2017). "Results". Wellington City Council . Retrieved 11 December 2023.
      35. ↑ "2024 Pukehinau-Lambton General Ward By-election". Wellington City Council. 17 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.

      References

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