1986 Wellington mayoral election

New Zealand local election January 2018 January 2018 1986 Wellington mayoral election New Zealand Flag of Wellington.svg Presidential no 1983 Wellington mayoral election 1983 1989 Wellington mayoral election 1989 11 October 1986 37,311 (41.77%) 150x150px Jim Belich New Zealand Labour Party 18,873 50.58 150x150px Ian Lawrence Wellington Citizens' Association 16,519 44.27 Mayor Ian Lawrence Jim Belich The 1986 Wellington mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1986, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including twenty-one city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method. Background The election saw one-term Mayor Ian Lawrence defeated by local advertising agent Jim Belich. 1986 also saw the Labour Party win their first ever majority of seats on the Council.Franks McAloon 2016 225 Electoral reforms were implemented at the 1986 municipal elections, the method of electing councillors at large which had been used since 1901 was replaced with a ward system of local electoral districts.The Evening Post Local elections on ward basis 9 October 1984 A major issue faced by the council during the term was the increasingly unpopular practice of raw sewage discharge into the sea. The two main candidates, Lawrence and Belich, had been friends for nearly twenty years adding a more personal element to the election than normal.Mayor, Belich — old friends The Dominion 17 February 1986 The two had first met in the late-1960s when Lawrence, as a member of the Jaycees, helped organise a fundraising international ball for a UNICEF, which Belich was president of. Both agreed to a "peace pact" to fight fair in the election.Pact for clean fight The Evening Post 19 August 1986 Highlighting the unpopular council sewage scheme both the Labour Party and the Wellington Clean Water Campaign ran a hostile ad campaign against Lawrence and the Citizens' Association. Lawrence responded, stressing that the sewage scheme was a collective decision of the council, not a personal decision of his. In the last week of the campaign Labour launched a series of particularly controversial advertisements on Lawrence and the council. One newspaper ad showed a toilet on the beach, linking to the clean water campaign to stop raw sewage discharge at Moa Point. Lawrence was angered by the attack which reneged on a pact between the two to fight fair. Belich professed that he did not intend for any personal offence.https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/72162572/obituary-sir-james-belich--from-adman-to-capital-cleanup-merchant MacDonald Nikki 19 September 2015 Sir James Belich – from ad-man to capital clean-up merchant Stuff 22 January 2018 Ultimately Belich defeated Lawrence by over 2,000 votes, a significant turnaround from Lawrence's 8,000 vote win in 1983.'New interest' as electors vote changes The Dominion 13 October 1986 1 The sewage issue was key to the result which Lawrence said he was both surprised and disappointed that voters judged him on that issue alone. He was also critical of the amount of campaign spending on advertising, with his opponents spending more than double what he did. The hostility of the sewage ads left him feeling bitter, but did not blame Belich personally.Anita Busby Lawrence bows out with a brave face The Dominion 13 October 1986 5 Results The following table gives the election results: 1986 Wellington mayoral electionBly Ross 24 October 1986 Declaration of Election Results Wellington City Council New Zealand Labour Party Jim Belich 18,873 50.58 Wellington Citizens' Association Ian Lawrence 16,519 44.27 +4.97 Independent politician Norm Thomas 1,344 3.60 McGillicuddy Serious Party Mark Servian 260 0.69 Private Enterprise #43A2FF Frank Moncur 251 0.67 +0.27 294 0.78 +0.16 2,354 6.30 37,017 41.77 +4.18 89,328 Ward results 1986 Wellington City local elections Candidates were also elected from wards to the Wellington City Council. Party/ticket Councillors Labour 11 Citizens' 9 Independent 1 Notes References Franks Peter McAloon Jim Labour: The New Zealand Labour Party 1916–2016 2016 Victoria University Press Wellington 978-1-77656-074-5 autocollapse Category:Mayoral elections in Wellington Category:1986 New Zealand local elections Category:Politics of the Wellington Region