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.

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

1901–86

Between 1901 and 1986 municipal elections in Wellington were conducted at large.[4] The following is a list of by-elections held to fill vacancies on the Wellington City Council at large:

Key

  Independent   Labour   Citizens'
Date Incumbent Cause Winner
1904 David Nathan Resignation Folk Cohen
1905 George Wiltshire Death John Luke
1906 Arthur Gibbs Resignation John Smith
1910 James Devine Death William Barber
Thomas Ballinger Resignation William Thompson
1912 David McLaren Elected as Mayor Edward Tregear
1920 George Frost Death William Gaudin
1922 Sydney Underwood Death Alexander Parton
1926 Alec Monteith Resignation John Glover
1927 John Caughley Resignation Charlton Morpeth
1933 Frank Meadowcroft Death Peter Fraser
1936 William Bennett Death John Read
1949 Frederick Furkert Death Berkeley Dallard
1955 Stewart Hardy Appointed as Magistrate Allan Highet
1960 Mervyn Castle Death Bob Archibald
1969 William Scollay Resignation Les Chapman
John Turk Hollis Reed

1986–present

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 under the ward system:

Key

  Independent   Labour   Citizens'   Green
Ward Date Incumbent Cause Winner
Otari 1987
Rosemary Young-Rouse
 Resignation Les Stephens
Karori 1987 Gavin Wilson Resignation Arthur Kinsella
Southern 1989 Neville Taylor Resignation Rodney Murphy
Southern 1991 John Blincoe Elected to parliament Margaret Bonner
Onslow 1994 David Bull Resignation Judy Siers
Southern 1994 Merrin Downing Resignation Celia Wade-Brown
Southern 1996 John Gilberthorpe Resignation Bryan Pepperell
Northern 1997 Sally Baber Resignation Jack Ruben
Eastern 2000 Sue Kedgley Elected to parliament Ray Ahipene-Mercer
Southern 2017 Paul Eagle Elected to parliament Fleur Fitzsimons
Lambton 2024 Tamatha Paul Elected to parliament Geordie Rogers

Results

1904 by-election

1904 Wellington City Council by-election[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Folk Cohen 877 41.64
Ind. Labour League William Hampton 413 19.61 -12.62
Independent George Baylis 357 16.95 -16.10
Independent Robert Henry Davenport 230 10.92 -43.29
Independent Francis Loudon 229 10.87
Majority 464 22.03
Turnout 2,106 17.20

1905 by-election

1905 Wellington City Council by-election[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent John Luke 1,706 41.91
Ind. Labour League William Noot 745 18.30
Independent George Baylis 723 17.76 -18.19
Independent Arthur Fullford 487 11.96 -20.60
Independent Nicholas McGuiness 277 6.80
Independent Mathew Henry Biggs 132 3.24
Majority 961 23.61
Turnout 4,070 19.75

1906 by-election

1906 Wellington City Council by-election[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent John Smith 759 28.18
Independent Richard Keene 586 21.76 -7.63
Independent Martin Luckie 330 12.25 -18.22
Ind. Labour League John Ball 266 9.87
Independent Thomas Wardell 216 8.02
Independent William J. Branigan 197 7.31 -15.20
Independent Alex Rand 140 5.19 -26.14
Independent Henry Fielder 126 4.67
Independent William James Gray 82 3.04
Majority 173 6.42
Turnout 2,693 13.30

1910 by-election

1910 Wellington City Council by-election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens League
 		William Henry Peter Barber 2,318 43.84
Citizens League
 		William Thompson 1,468 27.76
Independent James Moran 1,221 23.09
Labour Michael Reardon 1,198 22.65 +0.01
Independent James Godber 1,184 22.39
Labour Elijah Carey 1,112 21.03 -1.00
Independent Henry Hampton Rayward 704 13.31
Independent Sydney George Nathan 516 9.75
Independent James Speed 508 9.60
Independent Ernest Coleridge 458 8.66
Independent Vilhelm Jensen 457 8.64 -4.96
Independent Arthur Harry Fulford 297 5.61
Independent Andrew Hornblow 213 4.02
Majority 247 4.67
Turnout 5,287 16.46

1912 by-election

1912 Wellington City Council by-election[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
United Labour Edward Tregear 4,487 53.16
Citizens League
 William Thompson 3,694 43.76 +8.86
Independent Arthur Fulford 259 3.06
Majority 793 9.39
Turnout 8,440 27.13

1920 by-election

1920 Wellington City Council by-election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens League
 		William Gaudin 5,159 63.87 +24.91
Labour Tom Brindle 2,917 36.13 -3.62
Majority 2,239 27.73
Turnout 8,073 24.13

1922 by-election

1922 Wellington City Council by-election,[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens League
 		Alexander Parton 5,743 56.82 +22.67
Labour John Glover 4,147 41.03 +9.87
Independent Patrick Cavanagh 217 2.14 -4.07
Majority 1,596 15.79
Turnout 10,107 23.95

1926 by-election

1926 Wellington City Council by-election[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Glover 2,114 53.03 +18.52
Civic League
 William Gaudin 1,845 46.28
Informal votes 27 0.67
Majority 269 6.74
Turnout 3,986 9.03

1927 by-election

Ballot paper for the 1927 by-election
1927 Wellington City Council by-election[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Civic League
 		Charlton Morpeth 3,738 54.52 +22.44
Labour John Glover 3,096 45.16 +5.74
Informal votes 21 0.30
Majority 642 9.36
Turnout 6,855 15.33

1933 by-election

1933 Wellington City Council by-election[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Fraser 11,607 48.64
Citizens' Robert Wright 11,288 47.31
Independent John Castle 517 2.16
Communist Richard Webb 311 1.30 -13.81
Informal votes 136 0.57
Majority 319 1.33
Turnout 23,859 42.94

1936 by-election

1936 Wellington City Council by-election[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Read 10,032 49.29 +5.89
Citizens' Thomas Forsyth 9,217 45.29 +1.35
Independent Bruce Mabin 919 4.51
Informal votes 182 0.89
Majority 815 4.00
Turnout 20,350 29.13

1949 by-election

1949 Wellington City Council by-election[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' Berkeley Dallard 5,271 33.14
Independent Leslie Austin 3,375 21.21
Independent Stanley Dean 3,291 20.69
Independent William Bacon 2,961 18.61
Independent Thomas Callingham 848 5.33
Informal votes 159 0.99
Majority 1,896 11.92
Turnout 15,905 15.0

1955 by-election

1955 Wellington City Council by-election[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' Allan Highet 12,464 54.07
Labour Ernie Langford 10,488 45.50 +9.14
Informal votes 97 0.42
Majority 1,976 8.57
Turnout 23,049 27.0

1960 by-election

1960 Wellington City Council by-election[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Bob Archibald 2,588 37.68 +6.53
Citizens' John Turk 2,028 29.52 -9.54
Labour Charles Troughton 1,741 25.34 -1.70
Independent Annette Griffin 297 4.32 -7.26
Communist Paul Potiki 203 2.95
Informal votes 11 0.16
Majority 560 8.15
Turnout 6,868 7.70

1969 by-election

1969 Wellington City Council by-election[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' Les Chapman 6,325 47.13 +8.59
Citizens' Hollis Reed 5,876 43.78 +11.01
Labour Peter Butler 5,154 38.40 +0.12
Labour Edward Hill 4,881 36.37 -2.22
Independent Saul Goldsmith 2,301 17.14 +0.86
Civic Reform Don McMillain 1,280 9.53 -0.78
Independent Harry Hughes 1,021 7.60 -6.19
Majority 722 5.38
Turnout 13,419 19.80

1987 by-election, Otari Ward

1987 Otari Ward by-election[22][23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' Les Stephens 4,388 49.31
Labour Valerie Taylor 3,326 37.38
Independent Bob Monks 884 9.93
Independent Darryl Ward 299 3.36
Majority 1,062 11.93
Turnout 8,897 51.23

1987 by-election, Karori Ward

1987 Karori Ward by-election[24][25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' Arthur Kinsella 2,750 56.41
Labour Tracey Crampton-Smith 2,125 43.59 -20.14
Majority 625 12.82
Turnout 4,875 55.42

1989 by-election, Southern Ward

1989 Southern Ward by-election[26][27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rodney Murphy 1,566 36.79
Citizens' Brian Barraclough 1,496 35.15
Independent Warwick Taylor 786 18.46
Independent Owen Henderson 408 9.58
Majority 70 1.64
Turnout 4,256 35.36

1991 by-election, Southern Ward

1991 Southern Ward by-election[28][29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Margaret Bonner 2,492 27.92
Independent Helene Ritchie 1,564 17.52
Citizens' Ann Nolan 1,406 15.75
Green Liz Thomas 1,136 12.72
NewLabour Jeff Montgomery 903 10.11
Independent Silvio Bartholomeo Famularo 807 9.04
Independent Bill Maung 278 3.11 -10.11
People's Party Christopher Ellis 116 1.29 -8.99
Independent Harry Hughes 110 1.23
Independent Isiona Harmer 97 1.08
Communist League Patrick Brown 15 0.16
Majority 928 10.39
Turnout 8,924 43.02

1994 by-election, Onslow Ward

1994 Onslow Ward by-election[30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' Judy Siers 1,762 37.33
Independent Helene Ritchie 997 21.12
Independent Jill Main 925 19.60
Alliance Philip Lyth 502 10.63
Independent Bob Monks 328 6.95 -4.80
McGillicuddy Serious Jonathan Wharton 93 1.97
Independent Alexander Schiff 88 1.86 -2.29
Informal votes 24 0.50 -3.73
Majority 765 16.21
Turnout 4,719 45.42

1994 by-election, Southern Ward

1994 Southern Ward by-election[30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Alliance Greens Celia Wade-Brown 2,429 29.61 -6.90
Labour Hola Taue 2,197 26.78
Independent Eddie Mollier 1,404 17.11
Independent Bryan Pepperell 886 10.80
Independent Alan Chambers 666 8.11
Independent John Ulrich 396 4.82
McGillicuddy Serious John Morrison 184 2.24
Informal votes 40 0.48 -3.79
Majority 232 2.82
Turnout 8,202 39.54

1996 by-election, Southern Ward

1996 Southern Ward by-election[31]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Bryan Pepperell 2,381 30.51 -7.24
Labour Hola Taue 2,322 29.76 -17.91
Alliance Roland Sapsford 1,347 17.26 -7.42
Independent Alan Chambers 1,115 14.29
Independent Jonathan Mosen 441 5.65
Asia Pacific Mano'o Lutena Mulitalo 196 2.51
Majority 59 0.75
Turnout 7,802 36.89

1997 by-election, Northern Ward

1997 Northern Ward by-election[32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Jack Ruben 3,737 33.23
Citizens' Ian Hutchings 2,949 26.22
Independent Helene Ritchie 2,820 25.08
Alliance John Fanning 1,453 12.92 -13.76
Natural Law
 Penelope Donovan 284 2.52
Informal votes 98 0.87
Majority 788 7.00
Turnout 11,243 41.73

2000 by-election, Eastern Ward

2000 Eastern Ward by-election[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Ray Ahipene-Mercer 3,034 33.12
Independent Richard Griffin 1,691 18.46
Christian Democrats
 Linda Dring 902 9.84
Independent Jo Morgan 847 9.24 -28.89
Independent Gareth Rapson 843 9.20
Independent Jack Ruben 738 8.05
Independent Rama Ramanathan 601 6.56 -22.80
Legalise Cannabis Michael Appleby 245 2.67
Independent Phil Sprey 145 1.58 -16.55
McGillicuddy Serious Vince Terreni 86 0.93
Informal votes 27 0.29
Majority 1,343 14.66
Turnout 9,159 38.50

2017 by-election, Southern Ward

2017 Southern Ward by-election[34]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Labour Fleur Fitzsimons 32.88% 2,155 2,165 2,174 2,224 2,293 2,454 2,805
Independent Laurie Foon 26.29% 1,723 1,726 1,743 1,775 1,849 2,017 2,473
Independent Vicki Greco 24.26% 1,590 1,595 1,603 1,682 1,707 1,765
Independent Mohamud Mohamed 6.61% 433 448 456 486 569
Independent Merio Marsters 4.13% 271 275 280 295
Independent Rob Goulden 3.65% 239 242 255
Independent Thomas Morgan 1.01% 66 73
Independent Don McDonald 0.93% 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]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Green Geordie Rogers 42.45 3,665 3,676 3,680 3,738 3,809 4,147
Independent Karl Tiefenbacher 42.31 3,653 3,663 3,690 3,791 3,943 4,102
Independent Ellen Blake 6.39 552 558 567 598 653
Independent Joan Shi 4.20 363 369 376 418
Independent Edward Griffiths 3.29 284 287 293
Independent Zan Rai Gyaw 0.71 62 66
Independent Peter Wakeman 0.61 53
Valid: 8,632 (25.47%)   Spoilt: 12   Quota: 4,125  

Notes

  1. ^ "Light election poll 'appalling'". The Dominion. 12 September 1960.
  2. The Evening Post
    .
  3. ^ Moran, Paul (16 May 1985). "Harris back on Council". The Dominion.
  4. ^ Betts 1970, pp. 39.
  5. 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. The Evening Post
    . 24 November 1969.
  22. ^ Bly, Ross (13 July 1987). Otari Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
  23. The Evening Post
    . 11 May 1987.
  24. ^ Bly, Ross (13 July 1987). Karori Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
  25. The Evening Post
    . 14 July 1987.
  26. ^ Bly, Ross (13 March 1989). Southern Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
  27. The Evening Post
    . 14 March 1989.
  28. ^ Bly, Ross (29 April 1991). Southern Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
  29. The Evening Post
    . 1 May 1991.
  30. ^
    The Evening Post
    . p. 3.
  31. ^ Moran, Paul (4 November 1996). "Pepperell wins council by-election". The Dominion. p. 2.
  32. 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

  • Betts, G.M. (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd.
    ISBN 0 589 00469 7
    .
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