By-elections to the Auckland 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.
Background
Local by-elections usually had a lower turnout compared to full local body elections. A notorious example occurred in August 1961 when a vacancy triggered the second by-election in under a year which had a turnout of only 3.65% of voters, prompting Mayor Dove-Myer Robinson to label the light turnout "...absolutely disgraceful. By failing to exercise their democratic right the public is just asking Parliament to take away from them the right to vote".[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 1940 when Charles Bailey resigned his seat which was taken by Harry Butcher and March 1953 when Arthur Bailey died and his seat was taken by Bob Beechey.
Two future Mayors of Auckland (John Allum and Dove-Myer Robinson) entered the council via by-elections in 1920 and 1952 respectively.
List of by-elections
1903–86
Between 1903 and 1986 municipal elections in Auckland were conducted at large. The following is a list of by-elections held to fill vacancies on the Auckland City Council at large:
Key
Independent | Labour | Citizens & Ratepayers | United Independents | Civic Reform |
Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner |
1908 | | Robert Stopford | Resignation | | John Patterson |
1909 | | Moncrieff Murray McCallum | Resignation | | Ralph Thomas Michaels |
May 1910 | | Lemuel Bagnall | Resignation | | Henry Shaw |
Sep 1910 | | Herbert Smeeton | Resignation | | Jonathan Trevethick |
1920 | | Ernest Davis | Resignation | | John Allum |
| Andrew Entrican | | George Hutchison |
1921 | | Patrick Nerheny | Death | | George Davis |
Apr 1922 | | Harold Dennett Heather | Death | | Alfred Lawry |
| Peter Mitchell Mackay | | Samuel Crookes |
Oct 1922 | | Horatio Bagnall | Death | | Christopher Furness |
1928 | | Frederick Brinsden | Death | | Tom Bloodworth |
1936 | | John William Yarnall | Death | | Jim Purtell |
1938 | | George Richardson | Death | | Charles Bailey |
1952 | | Howard Hunter | Expulsion | | Dove-Myer Robinson |
1954 | | Fred Ambler | Expulsion | | Fred Ambler |
| Bruce Barnett | Resignation | | Val Chapman |
1957 | | Keith Buttle | Resignation | | Wilfred Fortune |
1958 | | Howard Hunter | Death | | Charlie Passmore |
Feb 1961 | | James Neil Bradley | Death | | Val Chapman |
Aug 1961 | | Mary Dreaver | Death | | Howard Jeffreys |
1963 | | Tom Pearce | Expulsion | | Tom Pearce |
| Fred de Malmanche | Resignation | | William Grant-Mackie |
1979 | | Bill Barrett | Death | | Richard Northey |
1986–2010
Between 1986 and 2010 municipal elections in Auckland were held via a Wards system of local electoral districts.[3] The following is a list of by-elections held to fill vacancies on the Auckland City Council under the ward system:
Key
Ward | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner |
Avondale | 1987 | | Barry Donovan | Death | | Brian Maude |
Central | 1988 | | Harold Goodman | Death | | Sue Corbett |
Maungakiekie | 1991 | | Grahame Thorne | Resignation | | Ken Graham |
Hauraki Gulf Islands | 1994 | | Sandra Lee | Resignation | | Gordon Hodson |
Avondale-Roskill | 2000 | | Phil Raffills | Death | | Noelene Raffills |
Avondale-Roskill | 2008 | | Linda Leighton | Death | | John Lister |
Results
1908 by-election
1909 by-election
May 1910 by-election
May 1910 Auckland City Council by-election[6] Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Citizens | Henry Shaw | 1,662 | 54.94 | +7.83 |
| Independent | Ernest William Burton | 828 | 27.37 | |
| Independent | William Richardson | 318 | 10.51 | |
| Independent | Thomas Harkins | 201 | 6.64 | |
Informal votes | 16 | 0.52 | |
Majority | 834 | 27.57 | |
Turnout | 3,025 | 15.92 | |
September 1910 by-election
1920 by-election
1921 by-election
April 1922 by-election
October 1922 by-election
October 1922 Auckland City Council by-election[11] Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Independent | Christopher H. Furness | 1,984 | 37.99 | |
| Progressive Citizens' | Dick Thompson | 1,657 | 31.73 | |
| Labour | Jeremiah James Sullivan | 1,581 | 30.27 | |
Majority | 327 | 6.26 | |
Turnout | 5,222 | 14.50 | |
1928 by-election
1936 by-election
1936 Auckland City Council by-election[13] Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Labour | Jim Purtell | 4,146 | 59.42 | +18.16 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | William Lang Casey | 2,233 | 32.00 | |
| Independent | James Payne | 543 | 7.78 | +2.02 |
Informal votes | 55 | 0.78 | |
Majority | 1,913 | 27.41 | |
Turnout | 6,977 | | |
1938 by-election
1936 Auckland City Council by-election[14] Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Labour | Charles Bailey | 11,434 | 51.32 | +16.36 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Harry Butcher | 10,758 | 48.28 | +6.02 |
Informal votes | 87 | 0.39 | |
Majority | 676 | 3.03 | |
Turnout | 22,279 | | |
1952 by-election
1954 by-election
1957 by-election
1958 by-election
February 1961 by-election
August 1961 by-election
August 1961 Auckland City Council by-election[20] Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Labour | Howard Jeffreys | 2,203 | 84.86 | +51.02 |
| Communist | Rita Smith | 341 | 13.13 | +4.51 |
Informal votes | 52 | 2.00 | |
Majority | 1,862 | 71.72 | |
Turnout | 2,596 | 3.65 | |
1963 by-election
1979 by-election
1987 by-election, Avondale Ward
1988 by-election, Central Ward
1991 by-election, Maungakiekie Ward
1994 by-election, Hauraki Gulf Islands Ward
2000 by-election, Avondale/Roskill Ward
2008 by-election, Avondale/Roskill Ward
Notes
- ^ "Labour Man Wins Seat on Council". The New Zealand Herald. 28 August 1961. p. 3.
- ^ "Local elections on ward basis". The Evening Post. 9 October 1984.
- ^ "Election of Councillor". Observer. Vol. XXVIII, no. 30. 11 April 1908. p. 18. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Election of Councillor". Observer. Vol. XXX, no. 6. 23 October 1909. p. 17. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Election of Councillor". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. XLVII, no. 14374. 19 May 1910. p. 10. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Election of Councillor". Observer. Vol. XXX, no. 52. 10 September 1910. p. 9. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Declaration of Poll". Observer. Vol. XLI, no. 13. 27 November 1920. p. 18. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Electoral". Auckland Star. Vol. LII, no. 305. 23 December 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Council by-election". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18077. 29 April 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "City by-election". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18231. 26 October 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- ^ "City by-election". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXV, no. 20098. 8 November 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXXIII, no. 22432. 30 May 1936. p. 8. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ "By-election". Auckland Star. Vol. LXIX, no. 159. 8 July 1938. p. 5. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ "Mr Robinson Wins City Council Seat". The New Zealand Herald. 7 April 1952.
- ^ "Declaration of Poll". The New Zealand Herald. 21 October 1954. p. 6.
- ^ "Final Figures Little Changed". The New Zealand Herald. 18 December 1957. p. 14.
- ^ "Mr Passmore Wins Council Seat". The New Zealand Herald. 6 October 1958. p. 10.
- ^ "Declaration of Result of Poll". The New Zealand Herald. 8 February 1961. p. 15.
- ^ "Declaration of Result of Poll". The New Zealand Herald. 30 August 1961. p. 11.
- ^ "Declaration of Result of Poll". The New Zealand Herald. 24 April 1963. p. 15.
- ^ "Declaration of Result of Election". The New Zealand Herald. 12 February 1979. p. 17.
- ^ Russell, Alexia (14 November 1988). "Corbett Wins Council Seat". The New Zealand Herald. p. 3.
- ^ "Lee ally wins her seat on city council". The New Zealand Herald. 30 May 1994. p. 10.
- ^ "New councillor elected for Avondale/Roskill ward". Scoop.co.nz. 9 April 2008.
References
- Bassett, Michael (2013). City of sails: the history of Auckland City Council, 1989–2010. ISBN 1927262003.
- Bush, Graham (1991). Advance in order: the Auckland City Council from centenary to reorganisation, 1971-1989. Auckland City Council. ISBN 0908834039.
- Bush, Graham (1971). Decently and in order: the Government of the City of Auckland, 1840-1971. Auckland City Council. ISBN 9780002111676.
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