The 2001 Christchurch mayoral election was part of the 2001 New Zealand local elections. Incumbent

Garry Moore Garry Moore (born Thomas Garrison Morfit; January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS network ...

beat talk back radio and television host George Balani.

Background

On 13 October of that year, elections were held for the

Mayor of Christchurch The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Phil ...

plus other local government roles. Despite predictions for a close race, incumbent Moore successfully contested a second term in office with a decisive majority. The second-placed candidate, Balani, was 17,000 votes (15%) behind Moore. Two former

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, who ...

lors, Gordon Freeman and Robin Booth, came third and fourth. Moore's main challenger, Balani, had a high profile as a talk back radio and television host; for many years, Balani had a show on

Canterbury Television Canterbury Television was an independent television station broadcasting in Canterbury, New Zealand. The name is synonymous with regional television in New Zealand as it was the name of the first regional broadcaster to operate in New Zealand ...

(CTV). A total of 14 candidates contested the 2001 mayoralty in Christchurch. Freeman was a city councillor for 15 years until he stood for mayor only in the 1998 mayoralty. Booth went into the election as a sitting member of Christchurch City Council.

Results

Moore, Balani and Freeman stood for mayor only. Robin Booth also stood for city councillor in the two-representative Shirley Ward, but came third and was thus defeated. Aaron Keown, who came fifth in the election, was later a Christchurch City Councillor from

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

for one three-year term. Moore remained mayor until the 2007 election, when he decided not to stand again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christchurch Mayoral Election, 2001 Mayoral elections in Christchurch 2001 elections in New Zealand Politics of Christchurch October 2001 events in New Zealand 2000s in Christchurch