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
Between 1901 and 1986 municipal elections in Wellington were conducted at-large.[4] 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:
Key
| Independent | Labour | Citizens' | Green |
| Ward | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At-large | 15 August 1904 | David Nathan | Resignation | Folk Cohen | ||
| At-large | 31 August 1905 | George Wiltshire | Death | John Luke | ||
| At-large | 27 April 1906 | Arthur Gibbs | Resignation | John Smith | ||
| At-large | 8 September 1910 | James Devine | Death | William Barber | ||
| Thomas Ballinger | Resignation | William Thompson | ||||
| At-large | 17 May 1912 | David McLaren | Elected as Mayor | Edward Tregear | ||
| At-large | 17 September 1920 | George Frost | Death | William Gaudin | ||
| At-large | 18 July 1922 | Sydney Underwood | Death | Alexander Parton | ||
| At-large | 22 July 1926 | Alec Monteith | Resignation | John Glover | ||
| At-large | 30 November 1927 | John Caughley | Resignation | Charlton Morpeth | ||
| At-large | 29 June 1933 | Frank Meadowcroft | Death | Peter Fraser | ||
| At-large | 4 November 1936 | William Bennett | Death | John Read | ||
| At-large | 2 November 1949 | Frederick Furkert | Death | Berkeley Dallard | ||
| At-large | 3 February 1955 | Stewart Hardy | Resignation | Allan Highet | ||
| At-large | 10 September 1960 | Mervyn Castle | Death | Bob Archibald | ||
| At-large | 15 November 1969 | William Scollay | Resignation | Les Chapman | ||
| John Turk | Hollis Reed | |||||
| Otari | 9 May 1987 | Rosemary Young-Rouse | Resignation | Les Stephens | ||
| Karori | 11 July 1987 | Gavin Wilson | Resignation | Arthur Kinsella | ||
| Southern | 11 March 1989 | Neville Taylor | Resignation | Rod Murphy | ||
| Southern | 27 April 1991 | John Blincoe | Resignation | Margaret Bonner | ||
| Onslow | 30 April 1994 | David Bull | Resignation | Judy Siers | ||
| Southern | Merrin Downing | Resignation | Celia Wade-Brown | |||
| Southern | 2 November 1996 | John Gilberthorpe | Resignation | Bryan Pepperell | ||
| Northern | 22 March 1997 | Sally Baber | Resignation | Jack Ruben | ||
| Eastern | 29 April 2000 | Sue Kedgley | Resignation | Ray Ahipene-Mercer | ||
| Southern | 22 December 2017 | Paul Eagle | Resignation | Fleur Fitzsimons | ||
| Lambton | 17 February 2024 | Tamatha Paul | Resignation | Geordie Rogers | ||
Results
1904 by-election
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
1960 by-election
| 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
| 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
| 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
1989 by-election, Southern Ward
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rod 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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 | |||||||||