1983 Christchurch City Council election
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| Turnout | 41,827 | |||||||||||||||
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The 1983 Christchurch City Council election was a local election held from September to 8 October in Christchurch, New Zealand, as part of that year's nation-wide local elections. Voters elected the mayor of Christchurch and 19 city councillors for the 1983–1986 term of the Christchurch City Council. The first-past-the-post voting system was used. In-person voting at a polling station was used for the last time in Christchurch; postal voting would be introduced for the 1986 Christchurch City Council election.
Terry McCombs, who represented the Labour Party on Christchurch City Council, died in November 1982. He was replaced by Mollie Clark, who was appointed to the role in February 1983.[1][2]
The Christchurch Citizens' Association started advertising for city council candidates in early March 1983. Their campaign chair was Newton Dodge.[3] The Citizens' Association received 28 nominations for positions at Christchurch City Council and other local bodies.[4]
The Labour Party announced that they would close their call for city council candidates by 31 March 1983, with candidates announced after a regional conference in mid-April.[3] The selection process was later changed, and the decisions deferred to ward selection meetings.[5] The South ward candidates were announced on 5 May.[6] In the East ward, incumbent councillor Audrey Barclay announced her retirement and withdrew her nomination in May 1983.[7] The three other East ward incumbents were confirmed as candidates, and Graeme Macann chosen as replacement for Barclay.[8]
Early voting was available at some polling booths between 5 and 7 October. Election day was Saturday, 8 October, and booths were open from 9 am to 7 pm. The electoral officer was W. R. Davies.[9] This was the last time that Christchurch City used in-person voting.[10] The adjacent Waimairi District had switched to postal voting in 1983 and by 6 October—two days prior to polling day— it was reported that they had already achieved a higher turnout than three years earlier.[11]
Ward results
Nineteen councillors were elected across five wards, with each ward being represented by four councillors, or three in the case of the West ward.[12] Both the Citizens' Association and Labour Party put forward nineteen candidates each for the council.[13] In addition, there was one non-affiliated perennial candidate, making for 39 city council candidates in total.[12]
Pegasus ward
Four councillors were elected in the Pegasus ward. There were eight candidates: four each from the Citizens' Association and Labour Party.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Vicki Buck* | 5,922 | |||
| Labour | David Close* | 4,625 | |||
| Labour | Noala Massey* | 4,239 | |||
| Labour | Kathie Lowe* | 4,097 | |||
| Citizens' | Alan Cockburn | 3,218 | |||
| Citizens' | Carole Evans | 3,114 | |||
| Citizens' | Bob Andrews | 2,974 | |||
| Citizens' | Steve Richens | 2,653 | |||
| Informal votes | 90 | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
East ward
Four councillors were elected in the East ward. There were eight candidates: four each from the Citizens' Association and Labour Party.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens' | Rex Arbuckle | 5,160 | |||
| Labour | Mollie Clark* | 5,125 | |||
| Citizens' | Clive Cotton* | 4,829 | |||
| Citizens' | Louise Moore | 4,622 | |||
| Labour | Charles Manning* | 4,514 | |||
| Labour | Alistair Graham* | 4,210 | |||
| Labour | Graeme Macann | 4,027 | |||
| Citizens' | Murray Ludemann | 4,010 | |||
| Informal votes | 128 | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
South ward
Four councillors were elected in the South ward. There were nine candidates: four each from the Citizens' Association and Labour Party, plus a perennial candidate, Michael Hansen (later known as Tubby Hansen).
Based on preliminary results, John Horgan from the Citizens' Association had come forth and was thus elected.[13] When the final results were published, though, Labour's incumbent Alister James was ahead of Horgan.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rex Lester* | 5,084 | |||
| Citizens' | Morgan Fahey* | 5,077 | |||
| Labour | Alex Clark* | 4,455 | |||
| Labour | Alister James* | 3,856 | |||
| Labour | Ruby Fowler | 3,820 | |||
| Citizens' | John Horgan | 3,777 | |||
| Citizens' | Ian Rivers | 3,562 | |||
| Citizens' | Roy Price | 3,422 | |||
| Euthenics | Michael Hansen | 304 | |||
| Informal votes | 120 | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
North ward
Four councillors were elected in the North ward. There were eight candidates: four each from the Citizens' Association and Labour Party. Two Labour Party incumbents lost their seats.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens' | John Burn | 4,632 | |||
| Citizens' | Anne Evans | 4,464 | |||
| Labour | Geoff Stone* | 4,457 | |||
| Citizens' | Ron Wright | 4,414 | |||
| Citizens' | Patrick Neary | 4,404 | |||
| Labour | Mary Gray | 4,152 | |||
| Labour | Don Rowlands* | 4,069 | |||
| Labour | Louisa Crawley* | 4,025 | |||
| Informal votes | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
West ward
Three councillors were elected in the West ward. There were six candidates: three each from the Citizens' Association and Labour Party. The three incumbents from the Citizens' Association retained their seats.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens' | Maurice Carter* | 5,128 | |||
| Citizens' | Matthew Glubb[20] | 4,814 | |||
| Citizens' | Helen Garrett | 4,806 | |||
| Labour | John Stewart[21] | 1,801 | |||
| Labour | John Freeman[22] | 1,745 | |||
| Labour | Frank Minehan | 1,633 | |||
| Informal votes | 85 | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
References
- ↑ "Councillor sworn in". The Press. 22 February 1983. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Christchurch City Council: Appointment of Councillor East Ward". The Press. 23 February 1983. p. 36. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- 1 2 "Local election action begins". The Press. 8 March 1983. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "28 offer to stand for Citizens' Assn". The Press. 27 May 1983. p. 4. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Candidates known soon". The Press. 22 April 1983. p. 7. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Candidates chosen". The Press. 5 May 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Councillor to stand down". The Press. 11 May 1983. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Candidates known soon". The Press. 26 May 1983. p. 7. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Christchurch City Council: Notice of polling period". The Press. 1 October 1983. p. 57. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Total city cover by postal vote". The Press. 25 September 1986. p. 29. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- ↑ "Important local choices". The Press. 6 October 1983. p. 20. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Christchurch City: Declaration of results of elections". The Press. 21 October 1983. p. 32. Retrieved 29 September 2025 – via PapersPast.
- 1 2 3 4 "City Council results". The Press. 10 October 1983. p. 3. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Local body candidates: City Council Pegasus poll". The Press. 24 September 1983. p. 27. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- ↑ "Eight seek four East Ward seats on City Council". The Press. 17 September 1983. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Local body candidates". The Press. 17 September 1983. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Nine seek four South ward seats". The Press. 17 September 1983. p. 24. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Local body candidates: Eight in Nth ward race". The Press. 21 September 1983. p. 20. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "West Ward (Three seats)". The Press. 15 September 1986. p. 7. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- ↑ "Page 28 Advertisements Column 4". The Press. 22 September 1983. p. 28. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Labour: West ward". The Press. 7 September 1983. p. 42. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Dog bites candidate". The Press. 3 October 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
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