The 1953 Lower Hutt mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. The elections were held for the role of

Mayor of Lower Hutt The city of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, was first proclaimed a borough on 1 February 1891. Prior to this it had been part of Hutt County, initially as a Roads Board and from 1881 as a Town Board. Since 2019, the mayor has been Campbell Barry. Li ...

plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors, also elected triennially. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background

A major talking point in the lead up to the election was the potential of a clash with the 1953 Royal Tour. There were proposals to postpone local elections until early 1954 over fears of reduced turnout due to a conflicted schedule. The proposals were considered by the Minister of Internal Affairs William Bodkin, who ultimately decided against it. The incumbent Mayor,

Percy Dowse Percy Dowse (4 December 1898 – 9 December 1970) was a New Zealand politician. He was mayor of Lower Hutt from 1950 to 1970. Biography Early life He was born in Lancashire in 1898 and was educated at Wigan Technical College. His coal miner fat ...

, sought re-election for a second term. Dowse was opposed by Citizens' Association candidate and former deputy mayor

Eric Rothwell Eric Francis Rothwell (31 December 1901 – 17 January 1991) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician who was Chief Judge of the High Court of Western Samoa from 1957 to 1960. Biography Early life Rothwell was born on 31 December 1901 in Gisbor ...

who had been a councillor from 1944 to 1950. The election marked the first under an increased membership of fifteen councillors rather than twelve. The election resulted in another landslide victory for the Labour ticket, winning the mayoralty and every council seat.

Mayoral results

Councillor results

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lower Hutt Mayoral Election, 1953 Mayoral elections in Lower Hutt 1953 elections in New Zealand Politics of the Wellington Region