1941 Wellington mayoral election

New Zealand local election November 2016 November 2016 1941 Wellington mayoral election New Zealand Wellington coat of arms (1878-1951) (shield only).svg Presidential no 1938 Wellington mayoral election 1938 1944 Wellington mayoral election 1944 17 May 1941 31,158 (51.51%) 150x150px Thomas Hislop Wellington Citizens' Association 19,919 63.92 150x150px Robert McKeen New Zealand Labour Party 10,978 35.23 Mayor Thomas Hislop Thomas Hislop The 1941 Wellington mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1941, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington and fifteen city councillors plus seats on the Wellington Hospital Board and Wellington Harbour Board. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method. Background After receiving a large public deputation, which encouraged him to run for another term, Thomas Hislop stated he would stand again.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19401106.2.83 The Mayoralty - Mr. Hislop to Stand The Evening Post 6 November 1940 CXXX 111 9 The Labour Party selected current councillor and MP Robert McKeen as its mayoral candidate.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19410220.2.109 Labour Candidate - Mayoralty Of Wellington The Dominion 20 February 1941 34 125 8 While residents as well as ratepayers had been able to vote in local elections since 1910, in this election tenants of state houses throughout New Zealand were made borough electors as though they were ratepayers (though they did not pay rates directly to councils, which were paid by central government). This meant that there was no qualifying period of residence for them, though they did not acquire the ratepayers' right to vote on loan or rating proposals.Betts 1970 42 The 'Nathan Incident' The election resulted in a landslide victory for the right-leaning local ticket the Citizens' Association with their candidates capturing all council seats and the mayoralty, blitzing the Labour Party.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19410519.2.105.4 The Evening Post 9 New City Council 19 May 1941 27 October 2016 CXXXI 116 This resulted from a scandal involving Hubert Nathan, a Citizens candidate for the Wellington Harbour Board and a stockbroker. Like other Citizens candidates, he had been critical of the number of union secretaries on the Labour ticket, asking how they could serve ratepayers and the city while dependent on the unions for their jobs. Nathan agreed to a visit on Friday 9 May by a union official and an associate, but that afternoon five men called and used "Gestapo tactics" according to Nathan. They reviling him because he was a Jew and saying no Jew should hold any public position, as well as saying they would stop him travelling or getting deliveries unless he apologised and withdrew in writing. On Wednesday 14 May after four days his account was splashed over the papers, giving the unions little time to respond. The Labour Representation Committee said his accusations were "hardly credible" but newspaper editorials condemned the use of union power to victimise opponents. No Labour candidate was returned to any of the three authorities, though McKeen (as highest polling unsuccessful candidate) was appointed to the Council in 1942 to fill a vacancy caused by Len McKenzie's death.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19421210.2.57 The Evening Post 4 City Council Vacancy 10 December 1942 3 June 2018 CXXXIV 140 It was nine years before a Labour candidate was again elected to the Council. The Citizens' clean sweep included Elizabeth Gilmer an active conservationist and daughter of Richard Seddon. Labour also lost all seats on the Wellington Hospital Board, although the board still had Labour representatives from Mākara, Petone and Johnsonville.Yska Redmer Wellington: Biography of a City 2006 Reed Auckland 0-7900-1117-4 159–60 Mayoralty results 1941 Wellington mayoral electionhttps://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19410524.2.112 The Evening Post 11 The Mayoralty 24 May 1941 27 October 2016 CXXXI 121 Wellington Citizens' Association Thomas Hislop 19,919 63.92 +7.07 New Zealand Labour Party Robert McKeen 10,978 35.23 261 0.83 +0.15 8,941 28.69 +14.30 31,158 51.51 -4.85 Councillor results 1941 Wellington City Council election Wellington Citizens' Association Robert Wright 19,468 62.48 +7.59 Wellington Citizens' Association Will Appleton 19,038 61.10 +9.55 Wellington Citizens' Association Malcolm Fraser 18,293 58.71 +7.51 Wellington Citizens' Association Elizabeth Gilmer 18,248 58.56 Wellington Citizens' Association Martin Luckie 18,150 58.25 +8.06 Wellington Citizens' Association William Gaudin 17,933 57.55 +7.14 Wellington Citizens' Association William Duncan 17,599 56.48 +7.25 Wellington Citizens' Association Len McKenzie 17,266 55.41 +6.76 Wellington Citizens' Association Robert Macalister 17,225 55.28 +9.35 Wellington Citizens' Association Bryan Todd 16,944 54.38 Wellington Citizens' Association Robert Nimmo 16,863 54.12 Wellington Citizens' Association Frederick Furkert 16,664 53.48 Wellington Citizens' Association Charles Bowden 16,416 52.68 Wellington Citizens' Association William Stevens 15,055 48.31 Wellington Citizens' Association James Sievwright 14,512 46.57 New Zealand Labour Party Robert McKeennb McKeen was appointed to fill the vacancy on the council in 1942 caused by Len McKenzie's death 12,517 40.17 -14.56 New Zealand Labour Party Charles Chapman 11,715 37.95 -13.95 New Zealand Labour Party Tom Brindle 10,779 34.59 -13.20 New Zealand Labour Party Peter Butler 10,706 34.36 -14.39 New Zealand Labour Party Adam Black 10,383 33.32 -12.91 New Zealand Labour Party Margaret Semple 10,379 33.31 -14.31 New Zealand Labour Party Catherine Stewart 9,947 31.92 New Zealand Labour Party Roy Holland 9,787 31.41 New Zealand Labour Party William Atkinson 9,643 30.94 New Zealand Labour Party Andrew Parlane 9,636 30.92 -13.44 New Zealand Labour Party John Read 9,307 29.87 -13.80 New Zealand Labour Party Jim Collins 9,214 29.57 -13.29 New Zealand Labour Party John Fleming 8,820 28.30 New Zealand Labour Party Harold Aspen 8,389 26.92 New Zealand Labour Party Percival Hansen 8,158 26.18 Independent politician Leslie Austin 3,607 11.57 -8.62 Independent politician Charlie Teece 3,230 10.36 Independent politician Arthur Carman 2,239 7.18 Independent politician Daniel Campbell 2,096 6.72 Communist Party of New Zealand Alexander Galbraith 2,007 6.44 Communist Party of New Zealand Connie Birchfield 1,731 5.55 Communist Party of New Zealand William Wood 1,713 5.49 Communist Party of New Zealand Jessie Probyn 1,081 3.46 -1.70 Table footnotes: nb Notes References Betts George George Betts (political scientist) Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics 1970 A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. Wellington 0 589 00469 7 autocollapse Category:Mayoral elections in Wellington Wellington City mayoral election Category:Politics of the Wellington Region Category:1940s in Wellington Category:May 1941 in Oceania