The 1877 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year to decide who would take the office of Mayor of Wellington.

Background

William Hutchison, the incumbent Mayor, initially intended to seek re-election however he later withdrew his candidature. This left a two-way race between former mayor

Joe Dransfield Joseph Dransfield (1827 – 21 September 1906) was the Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand, from 1870 to 1872. He was the first mayor of the reconstituted Wellington City since William Guyton was (briefly) mayor of the previous Wellington Borough ...

and lawyer

George Elliott Barton George Elliott Barton (20 May 1829 – 31 May 1903) was a 19th-century lawyer and practised as a barrister in Dublin (Ireland), Melbourne (Victoria), Dunedin & Wellington (New Zealand), Sydney (New South Wales). He was appointed a judge in Dunedin ...

. Barton later retired from election in consequence of being engaged in several legal cases pertaining to the city, meaning that if elected he would have had to appear in court against himself. After Barton's mid-campaign withdrawal Dransfield was then declared elected unopposed and thusly cancelled his remaining campaign meetings. It was the second election in a row where the mayoralty was uncontested.

Notes

References

* Mayoral elections in Wellington 1877 elections in New Zealand Politics of the Wellington Region 1870s in Wellington November 1877 events {{NewZealand-election-stub