1971 Christchurch mayoral election
The 1971 Christchurch mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1971, elections were held for the Mayor of Christchurch plus other local government positions. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.
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Turnout | 49,310 (56.57%) | |||||||||||||||
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Background
There were two hotly-discussed issues leading up to the 1971 election: a proposal by the mayor to build a road through North Hagley Park, and the venue choice for the 1974 British Commonwealth Games. Senior councillor Peter Skellerup of the Citizens' ticket criticised the incumbent mayor, Ron Guthrey (also of the Citizens' ticket) on the road proposal. According to Hamish Hay, a later mayor, the road proposal was Guthrey's undoing, and he was defeated by Labour councillor Neville Pickering.[1] It was the first occasion in 46 years that a sitting mayor had been defeated. Labour won a majority on the city council as well, winning control of the council for the first time since 1956, resulting in the composition of the council at eleven seats to eight in favour of the Labour Party.[2] The highest-polling councillor, by a margin of 2500 votes, was Skellerup, though.
Mayoralty results
The following table gives the election results:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Neville Pickering | 25,121 | 50.94 | ||
Citizens' | Ron Guthrey | 23,212 | 47.07 | -16.78 | |
Independent | Tubby Hansen | 618 | 1.25 | ||
Informal votes | 359 | 0.72 | ±0.00 | ||
Majority | 1,909 | 3.87 | |||
Turnout | 49,310 | 56.57 | +15.00 |
Councillor results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Citizens' | Peter Skellerup | 27,748 | 56.27 | -1.50 | |
Citizens' | Hamish Hay | 25,219 | 51.14 | -11.50 | |
Labour | Robert Macfarlane | 24,217 | 49.11 | +4.14 | |
Labour | Albert Orme | 23,735 | 48.13 | ||
Labour | Brian Alderdice | 22,952 | 46.54 | +6.67 | |
Labour | Mollie Clark | 22,841 | 46.32 | ||
Labour | David Caygill | 22,662 | 45.95 | ||
Citizens' | Peter Douglas Dunbar | 22,471 | 45.57 | -6.23 | |
Labour | Durham Dowell | 22,270 | 45.16 | ||
Citizens' | Norman Frank Greenslade | 21,944 | 44.50 | ||
Citizens' | Helen Garrett | 21,879 | 44.37 | -3.53 | |
Citizens' | Leslie George Amos | 21,780 | 44.16 | -7.26 | |
Labour | Mary Batchelor | 21,380 | 43.35 | ||
Labour | Nancy Sutherland | 21,281 | 43.15 | ||
Citizens' | Maurice Carter | 21,278 | 43.15 | +8.74 | |
Labour | Peter William Anderson | 21,111 | 42.81 | ||
Labour | William Massey | 20,634 | 41.84 | ||
Citizens' | William Vincent Cowles | 20,024 | 40.60 | -10.66 | |
Labour | Reginald John Cunningham | 19,920 | 40.39 | +5.62 | |
Labour | John F. Davidson | 19,919 | 40.39 | +5.63 | |
Citizens' | Peter Blaxall | 19,914 | 40.38 | -4.80 | |
Labour | Harold Turner | 19,675 | 39.90 | ||
Citizens' | Henry Charles Blazey | 19,537 | 39.62 | -7.13 | |
Labour | Bruce John Corkran | 19,530 | 39.60 | ||
Labour | Raymond Hugh Murray | 19,405 | 39.35 | ||
Citizens' | Bruce Britten | 19,243 | 39.02 | -9.06 | |
Citizens' | Harold Smith | 19,179 | 38.89 | +8.62 | |
Labour | John Gordon Power | 19,170 | 38.87 | ||
Labour | Alexander Fraser Ross | 18,963 | 38.45 | +4.79 | |
Labour | David Brine | 18,883 | 38.29 | ||
Labour | David Bernard O'Connell | 18,616 | 37.75 | ||
Citizens' | Robertson Stewart | 18,533 | 37.58 | -8.60 | |
Citizens' | Alec S. Farrar | 18,415 | 37.34 | ||
Citizens' | Gordon Denis Hattaway | 17,699 | 35.89 | -12.26 | |
Citizens' | Ted Taylor | 17,356 | 35.19 | -11.76 | |
Citizens' | Robert Keith Baker | 17,118 | 34.71 | ||
Independent | Reg Stillwell | 16,129 | 32.70 | -16.73 | |
Citizens' | Walter Raymond Campbell | 15,832 | 32.10 | ||
Citizens' | David L. Steven | 15,708 | 31.85 | ||
Independent | Roger Anthony Bamford | 5,514 | 11.18 | ||
Independent | Rolfe C. Neville | 4,993 | 10.12 | ||
Independent | Edward Foote | 4,935 | 9.99 | ||
Independent | Tubby Hansen | 3,669 | 7.44 |
References
- Hay, Hamish (1989). Hay Days. Christchurch: Caxton Press. p. 62. ISBN 0908563310.
- "Labour Has Control of Christchurch City". The Press. CXI (32734). 14 October 1971. p. 1.
- "Declaration of Results of Election". The Press. 20 October 1971. p. 29.
- "Christchurch City Council". The Press. 21 October 1971. p. 25.