By-elections to the
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
occur to fill vacant seats in the City Council. The death, resignation, bankruptcy or expulsion of a sitting Councillor can cause a by-election to occur.
Background
Local by-elections usually had a lower turnout compared to full local body elections. A notorious example occurred in August 1961 when a vacancy triggered the second by-election in under a year which had a turnout of only 3.65% of voters, prompting Mayor
Dove-Myer Robinson
Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office. He was a colourful character and became affectionately known across New ...
to label the light turnout "...absolutely disgraceful. By failing to exercise their democratic right the public is just asking Parliament to take away from them the right to vote". By-elections on the city council were on occasion deferred if a substantial majority of the council agreed to fill the vacancy by appointment, resulting in the highest polling unsuccessful candidate at the previous election being appointed to the council unless there is a public demand for a poll to be held (known as extraordinary vacancies). This arrangement has happened several times such as in 1940 when Charles Bailey resigned his seat which was taken by Harry Butcher and March 1953 when Arthur Bailey died and his seat was taken by Bob Beechey.
Two future Mayors of Auckland (
John Allum
Sir John Andrew Charles Allum (27 January 1889 – 16 September 1972) was a New Zealand businessman and engineer, and was Mayor of Auckland City from 1941 to 1953.
Biography Early life and career
Allum was born in London and educated at Goldsm ...
and
Dove-Myer Robinson
Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office. He was a colourful character and became affectionately known across New ...
) entered the council via by-elections in 1920 and 1952 respectively.
List of by-elections
1903–86
Between 1903 and 1986 municipal elections in Auckland were conducted
at large. The following is a list of by-elections held to fill vacancies on the Auckland City Council at large:
Key
1986–2010
Between 1986 and 2010 municipal elections in Auckland were held via a
Wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
system of local electoral districts.
The following is a list of by-elections held to fill vacancies on the Auckland City Council under the ward system:
Key
Results
1908 by-election
1909 by-election
May 1910 by-election
September 1910 by-election
1920 by-election
1921 by-election
April 1922 by-election
October 1922 by-election
1928 by-election
1936 by-election
1938 by-election
1952 by-election
1954 by-election
1957 by-election
1958 by-election
February 1961 by-election
August 1961 by-election
1963 by-election
1979 by-election
1987 by-election, Avondale Ward
1988 by-election, Central Ward
1991 by-election, Maungakiekie Ward
1994 by-election, Hauraki Gulf Islands Ward
2000 by-election, Avondale/Roskill Ward
2008 by-election, Avondale/Roskill Ward
Notes
References
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{{Mayors of Auckland, state=autocollapse
Politics of the Auckland Region
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New Zealand, Auckland City Council
By-elections to the Auckland Council