1921 Wellington City mayoral election
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| Turnout | 20,518 (51.90%) | |||||||||||||||
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The 1921 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1921, 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 and candidates[edit]
The long serving incumbent Mayor John Luke did not seek re-election. To replace retiring Mayor Luke five "anti-Labour" candidates emerged, which caused fear of vote splitting and a repeat of the 1912 election. As such, two immediately withdrew and the remaining three agreed to submit to the decision of an impartial committee to decide which one of them was most suitable.[1]
The three aspirants for the Civic League nomination were:[2]
- Len McKenzie, a city councillor since 1911
- Charles Norwood, a city councillor since 1917
- Robert Wright, a city councillor since 1913
Thomas Hislop, a former mayor from 1905 to 1909, also intended to stand as an independent candidate, eschewing the Civic League's nomination process.[2] However after receiving multiple requests Hislop decided to withdraw from the election.[3]
The Labour Party selected Pat Hickey as its mayoral candidate. Hickey was the editor of the Maoriland Worker newspaper.[4]
Wright defeated Hickey for the mayoralty in a two horse race. The election was also notable due to the success of Annie McVicar, who became the first woman to be elected as a city councillor in Wellington's history.[5]
Mayoralty results[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civic League | Robert Wright | 13,405 | 65.33 | ||
| Labour | Pat Hickey | 7,113 | 34.66 | ||
| Majority | 6,292 | 30.66 | |||
| Turnout | 20,518 | 51.90 | -2.21 | ||
Councillor results[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civic League | Len McKenzie | 11,332 | 55.22 | +2.56 | |
| Civic League | Charles Norwood | 11,141 | 54.29 | +0.15 | |
| Civic League | William Gaudin | 11,101 | 54.10 | +15.14 | |
| Civic League | William Bennett | 10,983 | 53.52 | +5.06 | |
| Civic League | Martin Luckie | 10,646 | 51.88 | +1.83 | |
| Civic League | Thomas Forsyth | 10,445 | 50.90 | +6.73 | |
| Civic League | Benjamin Burn | 10,232 | 49.86 | ||
| Civic League | James Dale | 9,889 | 48.19 | +2.94 | |
| Civic League | John Burns | 9,293 | 45.29 | ||
| Civic League | William Thompson | 9,056 | 44.13 | +0.24 | |
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 7,726 | 37.65 | -9.54 | |
| Civic League | Annie McVicar | 7,690 | 37.47 | ||
| Labour | Charles Chapman | 7,333 | 35.73 | -9.50 | |
| Civic League | Sydney Underwood | 7,300 | 35.57 | ||
| Civic League | Jane Preston | 7,016 | 34.19 | ||
| Civic League | Alexander Parton | 7,007 | 34.15 | ||
| Independent | John Kerslake | 6,733 | 32.81 | ||
| Labour | John Glover | 6,394 | 31.16 | -10.14 | |
| Labour | Alec Monteith | 6,247 | 30.44 | -7.00 | |
| Labour | Tom Brindle | 5,979 | 29.14 | -10.61 | |
| Independent | Dunbar Sloane | 5,939 | 28.94 | ||
| Labour | John Read | 5,895 | 28.73 | ||
| Labour | Tom Young | 5,777 | 28.15 | ||
| Labour | Alec Croskery | 5,775 | 28.14 | -10.28 | |
| Independent | Edward Vine | 5,518 | 26.89 | ||
| Labour | James McKenzie | 5,363 | 26.13 | ||
| Labour | Michael Walsh | 5,187 | 25.28 | ||
| Labour | Sarah Snow | 4,912 | 23.93 | -8.77 | |
| Independent | Timothy Buckley | 4,752 | 23.16 | ||
| Independent | Frank Meadowcroft | 4,702 | 22.91 | -18.36 | |
| Independent | Nellie Coad | 4,469 | 21.78 | ||
| Labour | Sarah Catlow | 4,392 | 21.40 | ||
| Labour | Robert McKeen | 4,304 | 20.97 | -11.26 | |
| Labour | Frederick Singleton | 3,943 | 19.24 | ||
| Labour | Bob Stickney | 3,931 | 19.15 | -11.76 | |
| Independent | Andrew Hornblow | 2,791 | 13.60 | +1.16 | |
| Independent | Robert Burbidge | 2,783 | 13.56 | ||
| Independent | George Baylis | 2,388 | 11.63 | ||
| Independent | James Muir | 1,795 | 8.74 | ||
| Independent | Patrick Cavanagh | 1,275 | 6.21 | ||
Notes[edit]
- ^ Betts 1970, pp. 179.
- ^ a b "City Mayoralty - Coming Contest". The New Zealand Times. Vol. XLVII, no. 10838. 2 March 1921. p. 5.
- ^ "The Mayoralty - Hon. T. Hislop Retires". The New Zealand Times. Vol. XLVII, no. 10877. 18 April 1921. p. 5.
- ^ "News of the Day". The New Zealand Times. Vol. XLVI, no. 10727. 22 October 1920. p. 4.
- ^ Hughes, Beryl. "Annie McVicar". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "Wellington City Council". The Evening Post. Vol. CI, no. 109. 9 May 1921. p. 3.
- ^ "City Council". The Evening Post. Vol. CI, no. 108. 7 May 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
References[edit]
- Betts, George (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN 0-589-00469-7.
- Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1900–19. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.
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