1971 Wellington City mayoral election
9 October 1971
Turnout31,599 (44.30%)
 
Candidate Sir Frank Kitts Alex O'Shea
Party Labour Citizens'
Popular vote 20,146 9,915
Percentage 63.75 31.37
Mayor before election

Sir Frank Kitts
Labour

 Elected Mayor

Sir Frank Kitts
Labour

The 1971 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1971, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background

The election saw incumbent Mayor Sir Frank Kitts re-elected for a record equaling sixth term as Wellington's Mayor, defeating his main opponent, former New Zealand Farmers' Union chairman Alex O'Shea. The Citizens' Association has difficulty in selecting its mayoral candidate with many speculating that it would not opt to contest the position, leading commentators to label them as "defeatist".[1] Deputy mayor George Porter was approached to stand, but declined the nomination for "personal reasons", offering himself only for a council seat.[2] Eventually O'Shea was chosen by the Citizens' Association executive over two other undisclosed aspirants.

The election also saw a third electoral ticket emerge "Civic Reform", who would unsuccessfully challenge the two-ticket system that had dominated Wellington's local body politics since the 1930s. Civic Reform also contested the 1974 and 1977 local elections with even less success.

The main talking point following the election was that the initial results showed that the Labour Party had won a majority on the council, the first time they had done so. However, following the counting of special votes the fifteenth highest (last successful) polling candidate, Labour's Joe Aspell, lost his seat to Citizens' candidate Ian Lawrence (a future Mayor) after a 23-vote lead became a 17-vote defeat thus leaving the state of parties at 8–7 in favour of the Citizens' Association.[3]

Mayoralty results

1971 Wellington mayoral election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sir Frank Kitts 20,146 63.75 -1.42
Citizens' Alex O'Shea 9,915 31.37
Civic Reform Donald McMillain 1,255 3.97
Informal votes 283 0.89 -0.02
Majority 10,231 32.37 +1.11
Turnout 31,599 44.30 -3.20

Councillor results

1971 Wellington City Council election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rolland O'Regan 18,648 59.01 -3.54
Labour John Jeffries 18,541 58.67 -1.31
Labour Olive Smuts-Kennedy 17,911 56.68 +0.11
Citizens' Stewart Duff 16,345 51.72 -4.88
Citizens' George Porter 16,117 51.00 -8.66
Citizens' Betty Campbell 15,564 49.25 +1.14
Labour David Shand 14,488 45.84
Labour Keith Spry 14,004 44.31 -1.11
Citizens' Michael Fowler 13,570 42.94 +1.15
Citizens' Denis Foot 13,270 41.99
Labour Brian O'Brien 13,083 41.40
Citizens' Les Chapman 12,789 40.47 -6.66
Citizens' Ron Button 12,603 39.88 -2.30
Labour Warwick McKean 12,251 38.77
Citizens' Ian Lawrence 11,953 37.82
Labour Joe Aspell 11,936 37.77
Citizens' Fairlie Curry 11,695 37.01
Citizens' Reg Fyfe 11,484 36.34
Citizens' Nancy Horrocks 11,280 35.69
Labour Norm Bevan 11,269 35.66
Citizens' Bernard Kaiser 11,018 34.86
Citizens' Hollis Reed 10,894 34.47 -9.31
Labour Pat Brockie 10,789 34.14
Labour Florence Vincent 10,314 32.64 -4.70
Citizens' George Madgwick 10,687 33.82 -1.71
Labour Yvonne Grove 9,854 31.18 -6.37
Citizens' Peter Robertson 9,747 30.84
Labour Donovan Walker 9,475 29.98
Labour Adam Floyd 8,707 27.55
Labour Hannah Harwood 8,633 27.32
Independent Saul Goldsmith 6,050 19.14 +2.00
Civic Reform Bill O'Brien 4,547 14.38
Civic Reform Don McMillain 3,829 12.11 +2.58
Independent Donald Young 3,408 10.78
Civic Reform Aota Leilua 2,723 8.61
Civic Reform Catherine Stafford 2,720 8.60
Civic Reform Ron England 2,637 8.34
Civic Reform Don McPherson 2,214 7.00
Civic Reform Vao Teo 2,040 6.45
Independent Italo Vincent John Comis 1,886 5.96
Civic Reform Donald Ross 1,613 5.10
Civic Reform Colin Percy 1,611 5.09
Civic Reform Carl Edwards 1,563 4.94
Civic Reform Des Lena 1,519 4.80
Civic Reform Alan Ogden 1,380 4.36
Civic Reform Joseph Pratt 1,252 3.96
Independent Frank Moncur 1,055 3.33
Civic Reform John Pell 956 3.02
Civic Reform Rob Simmons 758 2.39

References

  1. ↑ "Nobody for mayor". The Dominion. 27 April 1971.
  2. ↑ "Cr Porter Won't Stand For Mayor". The Evening Post. 5 June 1971.
  3. ↑ "Sir Francis Holds Ace After Special Votes Displace A Labour Man". The Evening Post. 22 October 1971.
  4. 1 2 Petersen, G.A. (19 October 1971). Declaration of Election Results (Report). Wellington City Council.
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