The 1965 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1965, 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.
There was a rift within the Citizens' Association over their selected candidate for the mayoralty, Matt Benney. Benney was a first term councillor and formerly a reputable civil servant, serving as Under-secretary for Mines from 1940 until he retired in 1959. Benney was chosen as the Citizens' nominee for the mayoralty by the association's executive, but he withdrew his nomination after it became clear that a sizeable majority of sitting Citizens' councillors instead favoured deputy-mayor Denis McGrath.[1] After Benney's declination, councillor Noel Manthel was then proposed as a compromise candidate, but he declined backing McGrath instead. However McGrath declined to stand for mayor and offered himself only for the council.[2] As the deadline for nominations neared a deputation of over 50 businessmen and Citizens' candidates asked Benney to again accept both the nomination and deputy-mayoralty, to which he agreed.[3]
Kitts attracted criticism for insisting on standing for the council as well as the mayoralty. He had done so in the previous five elections (winning the mayoralty in the last three) but with both his large majority in the previous election combined with the frictions within the Citizens' Association, Kitts was expected to win the mayoralty comfortably. Labour supporters thought he should make way for another candidate on the council ticket and reduce the number of wasted votes that would be caused on an inevitable dual election.[4] The Labour Party duly won more votes than the Citizens' Association for the council, including over 18,000 for Kitts, though this only translated into one extra council seat, still leaving the council with a Citizens' majority.[5]
^ abPetersen, G.A. (23 October 1965). Declaration of Election Results (Report). Wellington City Council.
Referencesedit
Betts, George (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN0 589 00469 7.
May 02, 2024
1965, wellington, city, mayoral, election, part, zealand, local, elections, held, that, same, year, 1965, elections, were, held, mayor, wellington, plus, other, local, government, positions, including, fifteen, city, councillors, polling, conducted, using, sta. The 1965 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year In 1965 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 1965 Wellington City mayoral election 1962 9 October 1965 1968 Turnout30 962 47 6 Candidate Frank Kitts Matt Benney Party Labour Citizens Popular vote 17 783 11 966 Percentage 57 43 38 64Mayor before election Frank Kitts Labour Elected Mayor Frank Kitts Labour Contents 1 Background 2 Mayoralty results 3 Councillor results 4 Notes 5 ReferencesBackground editThere was a rift within the Citizens Association over their selected candidate for the mayoralty Matt Benney Benney was a first term councillor and formerly a reputable civil servant serving as Under secretary for Mines from 1940 until he retired in 1959 Benney was chosen as the Citizens nominee for the mayoralty by the association s executive but he withdrew his nomination after it became clear that a sizeable majority of sitting Citizens councillors instead favoured deputy mayor Denis McGrath 1 After Benney s declination councillor Noel Manthel was then proposed as a compromise candidate but he declined backing McGrath instead However McGrath declined to stand for mayor and offered himself only for the council 2 As the deadline for nominations neared a deputation of over 50 businessmen and Citizens candidates asked Benney to again accept both the nomination and deputy mayoralty to which he agreed 3 Kitts attracted criticism for insisting on standing for the council as well as the mayoralty He had done so in the previous five elections winning the mayoralty in the last three but with both his large majority in the previous election combined with the frictions within the Citizens Association Kitts was expected to win the mayoralty comfortably Labour supporters thought he should make way for another candidate on the council ticket and reduce the number of wasted votes that would be caused on an inevitable dual election 4 The Labour Party duly won more votes than the Citizens Association for the council including over 18 000 for Kitts though this only translated into one extra council seat still leaving the council with a Citizens majority 5 Mayoralty results edit1965 Wellington mayoral election 6 Party Candidate Votes Labour Frank Kitts 17 783 57 43 3 75 Citizens Matt Benney 11 966 38 64 United Action Saul Goldsmith 1 031 3 32 4 11 Informal votes 182 0 58 0 07 Majority 5 817 18 78 9 53 Turnout 30 962 47 6 1 2Councillor results edit1965 Wellington City Council election 6 Party Candidate Votes Labour Frank Kitts nb 1 18 059 58 32 3 33 Labour Rolland O Regan 16 729 54 03 Citizens Matt Benney 16 606 53 63 13 60 Labour John Jeffries 15 678 50 63 12 33 Labour Olive Smuts Kennedy 15 294 49 39 Citizens Maida Clark 14 914 48 16 4 06 Citizens Bob Archibald 14 332 46 28 0 06 Citizens Alice Campbell 14 013 45 25 1 24 Citizens Denis McGrath 13 991 45 18 1 36 Citizens Stewart Duff 13 451 43 44 0 44 Citizens George Porter 12 767 41 23 3 10 Citizens John Turk 12 376 39 97 0 20 Citizens Gordon Morrison 12 305 39 74 2 09 Labour Gerald O Brien 12 257 39 58 6 10 Citizens William Scollay 12 095 39 06 Labour Keith Spry 11 962 38 63 Labour Peter Butler 11 939 38 56 Labour Willis Livingstone Combs 11 458 37 00 Labour Percival Hansen 11 368 36 71 6 55 Citizens Terry Dunleavy 11 202 36 17 Citizens Roy Parsons 10 861 35 07 Citizens Shirley Rowe 10 358 33 45 Labour Edward Hill 10 305 33 28 Labour Gwendrith Elsie Haine 10 209 32 97 Labour William Rose 10 050 32 45 Citizens William Haydon 10 026 32 38 Labour Charles Troughton 9 761 31 52 Labour Roland Howell 9 677 31 25 3 58 Labour Alexander Schiff 9 399 30 35 Citizens Oscar Bergh 8 700 28 09 Independent Max Wall 5 585 18 03 United Action Saul Goldsmith 4 548 14 68 10 26 United Action Frank Tickner 3 885 12 54 6 28 United Action Harold Fownes 2 802 9 04 United Action Ron Brierley 2 791 9 01 2 84 United Action Nancy Horrocks 2 710 8 75 United Action Peter Madden 2 691 8 69 United Action Alice Coe 2 625 8 47 2 09 United Action Lindsay Buick Constable 2 557 8 25 United Action Oliver Goldsmith 2 421 7 81 United Action Nancy La Coste 2 323 7 50 United Action Barry Michael 2 014 6 50 United Action Carlyle Edwards 2 012 6 49 2 42 United Action Maurice de Woolf 1 947 6 28 United Action William Crowe 1 749 5 64 Independent William Rea 1 689 5 45 United Action William Woolhouse 1 610 5 19 Independent Philip Cossham 1 588 5 12 United Action Evan Collett 1 500 4 84 United Action Patrick Fee 1 342 4 33 2 04 Communist Ralph Gooderidge 1 068 3 44 Communist Ron Smith 1 017 3 28 1 01 Table footnotes As Kitts won the Mayoralty his election to the council was voided and his seat was awarded to the highest polling unsuccessful candidate Notes edit Another rift seen in Citizens ranks The Dominion 4 June 1965 Betts 1970 p 186 Cr C H Benney is Citizens Mayoral Choice The Evening Post 30 August 1965 Supporters angry at mayor s stand Sunday News 1 August 1965 Betts 1970 p 146 a b Petersen G A 23 October 1965 Declaration of Election Results Report Wellington City Council References editBetts George 1970 Betts on Wellington A City and its Politics Wellington A H amp A W Reed Ltd ISBN 0 589 00469 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1965 Wellington City mayoral election amp oldid 1217169331, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
