# List of by-elections to the Wellington City Council

By-elections to the Wellington City Council 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. By-elections were particularly frequent in the 1980s and 1990s but have become a rarity in recent years with only three occurring since 2000.

## Background

Local by-elections normally have lower turnouts than full local body elections. A noted case occurred in 1960 when a vacancy triggered a by-election which had a turnout of only 7.7% of voters, prompting Mayor Frank Kitts to label the light turnout a "deplorable state of affairs" as "...there were responsible and worthwhile citizens who were prepared to devote their time and money in service to the people". 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 1973 when Olive Smuts-Kennedy resigned her seat and Seton Nossiter was appointed to replace her, in 1979 when Irvine Yardley resigned and was replaced with Tala Cleverley after several higher polling candidates declined the appointment, and in 1985 when Leone Harkness resigned and her council seat which was taken by Bruce Harris.
Two mayors first entered the Council via by-elections; John Luke (in 1905) and Celia Wade-Brown (in 1994).

## List

Between 1901 and 1986 municipal elections in Wellington were conducted at-large. Since 1986 municipal elections in Wellington have been held via a Wards system of local electoral districts. The following is a list of by-elections held to fill vacancies on the Wellington City Council:
Key
| Independent | Labour | Citizens' | Green |
| Ward | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner |
| At-large | 15 August 1904 | David Nathan | Resignation | Folk Cohen |
| At-large | 31 August 1905 | George Wiltshire | Death | John Luke |
| At-large | 27 April 1906 | Arthur Gibbs | Resignation | John Smith |
| At-large | 8 September 1910 | James Devine | Death | William Barber |
| At-large | 8 September 1910 | Thomas Ballinger | Resignation | William Thompson |
| At-large | 17 May 1912 | David McLaren | Elected as Mayor | Edward Tregear |
| At-large | 17 September 1920 | George Frost | Death | William Gaudin |
| At-large | 18 July 1922 | Sydney Underwood | Death | Alexander Parton |
| At-large | 22 July 1926 | Alec Monteith | Resignation | John Glover |
| At-large | 30 November 1927 | John Caughley | Resignation | Charlton Morpeth |
| At-large | 29 June 1933 | Frank Meadowcroft | Death | Peter Fraser |
| At-large | 4 November 1936 | William Bennett | Death | John Read |
| At-large | 2 November 1949 | Frederick Furkert | Death | Berkeley Dallard |
| At-large | 3 February 1955 | Stewart Hardy | Resignation | Allan Highet |
| At-large | 10 September 1960 | Mervyn Castle | Death | Bob Archibald |
| At-large | 15 November 1969 | William Scollay | Resignation | Les Chapman |
| At-large | 15 November 1969 | John Turk | Resignation | Hollis Reed |
| Otari | 9 May 1987 | Rosemary Young-Rouse | Resignation | Les Stephens |
| Karori | 11 July 1987 | Gavin Wilson | Resignation | Arthur Kinsella |
| Southern | 11 March 1989 | Neville Taylor | Resignation | Rod Murphy |
| Southern | 27 April 1991 | John Blincoe | Resignation | Margaret Bonner |
| Onslow | 30 April 1994 | David Bull | Resignation | Judy Siers |
| Southern | 30 April 1994 | Merrin Downing | Resignation | Celia Wade-Brown |
| Southern | 2 November 1996 | John Gilberthorpe | Resignation | Bryan Pepperell |
| Northern | 22 March 1997 | Sally Baber | Resignation | Jack Ruben |
| Eastern | 29 April 2000 | Sue Kedgley | Resignation | Ray Ahipene-Mercer |
| Southern | 22 December 2017 | Paul Eagle | Resignation | Fleur Fitzsimons |
| Lambton | 17 February 2024 | Tamatha Paul | Resignation | Geordie Rogers |

## Results
### 1904 by-election

1904 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Folk Cohen | 877 | 41.64 | |
| | Ind. Labour League | William Hampton | 413 | 19.61 | −12.62 |
| | Independent | George Baylis | 357 | 16.95 | −16.10 |
| | Independent | Robert Henry Davenport | 230 | 10.92 | −43.29 |
| | Independent | Francis Loudon | 229 | 10.87 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 464 | 22.03 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,106 | 17.20 | |

### 1905 by-election

1905 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | John Luke | 1,706 | 41.91 | |
| | Ind. Labour League | William Noot | 745 | 18.30 | |
| | Independent | George Baylis | 723 | 17.76 | −18.19 |
| | Independent | Arthur Fullford | 487 | 11.96 | −20.60 |
| | Independent | Nicholas McGuiness | 277 | 6.80 | |
| | Independent | Mathew Henry Biggs | 132 | 3.24 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 961 | 23.61 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,070 | 19.75 | |

### 1906 by-election

1906 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | John Smith | 759 | 28.18 | |
| | Independent | Richard Keene | 586 | 21.76 | −7.63 |
| | Independent | Martin Luckie | 330 | 12.25 | −18.22 |
| | Ind. Labour League | John Ball | 266 | 9.87 | |
| | Independent | Thomas Wardell | 216 | 8.02 | |
| | Independent | William J. Branigan | 197 | 7.31 | −15.20 |
| | Independent | Alex Rand | 140 | 5.19 | −26.14 |
| | Independent | Henry Fielder | 126 | 4.67 | |
| | Independent | William James Gray | 82 | 3.04 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 173 | 6.42 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,693 | 13.30 | |

### 1910 by-election

1910 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens League | William Henry Peter Barber | 2,318 | 43.84 | |
| | Citizens League | William Thompson | 1,468 | 27.76 | |
| | Independent | James Moran | 1,221 | 23.09 | |
| | Labour | Michael Reardon | 1,198 | 22.65 | +0.01 |
| | Independent | James Godber | 1,184 | 22.39 | |
| | Labour | Elijah Carey | 1,112 | 21.03 | −1.00 |
| | Independent | Henry Hampton Rayward | 704 | 13.31 | |
| | Independent | Sydney George Nathan | 516 | 9.75 | |
| | Independent | James Speed | 508 | 9.60 | |
| | Independent | Ernest Coleridge | 458 | 8.66 | |
| | Independent | Vilhelm Jensen | 457 | 8.64 | −4.96 |
| | Independent | Arthur Harry Fulford | 297 | 5.61 | |
| | Independent | Andrew Hornblow | 213 | 4.02 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 247 | 4.67 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,287 | 16.46 | |

### 1912 by-election

1912 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Labour | Edward Tregear | 4,487 | 53.16 | |
| | Citizens League | William Thompson | 3,694 | 43.76 | +8.86 |
| | Independent | Arthur Fulford | 259 | 3.06 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 793 | 9.39 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,440 | 27.13 | |

### 1920 by-election

1920 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens League | William Gaudin | 5,159 | 63.87 | +24.91 |
| | Labour | Tom Brindle | 2,917 | 36.13 | −3.62 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,239 | 27.73 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,073 | 24.13 | |

### 1922 by-election

1922 Wellington City Council by-election, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens League | Alexander Parton | 5,743 | 56.82 | +22.67 |
| | Labour | John Glover | 4,147 | 41.03 | +9.87 |
| | Independent | Patrick Cavanagh | 217 | 2.14 | −4.07 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,596 | 15.79 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,107 | 23.95 | |

### 1926 by-election

1926 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Glover | 2,114 | 53.03 | +18.52 |
| | Civic League | William Gaudin | 1,845 | 46.28 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 27 | 0.67 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 269 | 6.74 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,986 | 9.03 | |

### 1927 by-election

1927 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Civic League | Charlton Morpeth | 3,738 | 54.52 | +22.44 |
| | Labour | John Glover | 3,096 | 45.16 | +5.74 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 21 | 0.30 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 642 | 9.36 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,855 | 15.33 | |

### 1933 by-election

1933 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Fraser | 11,607 | 48.64 | |
| | Citizens' | Robert Wright | 11,288 | 47.31 | |
| | Independent | John Castle | 517 | 2.16 | |
| | Communist | Richard Webb | 311 | 1.30 | −13.81 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 136 | 0.57 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 319 | 1.33 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,859 | 42.94 | |

### 1936 by-election

1936 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Read | 10,032 | 49.29 | +5.89 |
| | Citizens' | Thomas Forsyth | 9,217 | 45.29 | +1.35 |
| | Independent | Bruce Mabin | 919 | 4.51 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 182 | 0.89 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 815 | 4.00 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,350 | 29.13 | |

### 1949 by-election

1949 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Citizens' | Berkeley Dallard | 5,271 | 33.14 |
| | Independent | Leslie Austin | 3,375 | 21.21 |
| | Independent | Stanley Dean | 3,291 | 20.69 |
| | Independent | William Bacon | 2,961 | 18.61 |
| | Independent | Thomas Callingham | 848 | 5.33 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 159 | 0.99 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,896 | 11.92 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,905 | 15.0 |

### 1955 by-election

1955 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens' | Allan Highet | 12,464 | 54.07 | |
| | Labour | Ernie Langford | 10,488 | 45.50 | +9.14 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 97 | 0.42 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,976 | 8.57 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,049 | 27.0 | |

### 1960 by-election

1960 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Bob Archibald | 2,588 | 37.68 | +6.53 |
| | Citizens' | John Turk | 2,028 | 29.52 | −9.54 |
| | Labour | Charles Troughton | 1,741 | 25.34 | −1.70 |
| | Independent | Annette Griffin | 297 | 4.32 | −7.26 |
| | Communist | Paul Potiki | 203 | 2.95 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 11 | 0.16 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 560 | 8.15 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,868 | 7.70 | |

### 1969 by-election

1969 Wellington City Council by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens' | Les Chapman | 6,325 | 47.13 | +8.59 |
| | Citizens' | Hollis Reed | 5,876 | 43.78 | +11.01 |
| | Labour | Peter Butler | 5,154 | 38.40 | +0.12 |
| | Labour | Edward Hill | 4,881 | 36.37 | −2.22 |
| | Independent | Saul Goldsmith | 2,301 | 17.14 | +0.86 |
| | Civic Reform | Don McMillain | 1,280 | 9.53 | −0.78 |
| | Independent | Harry Hughes | 1,021 | 7.60 | −6.19 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 722 | 5.38 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,419 | 19.80 | |

### 1987 by-election, Otari Ward

1987 Otari Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Citizens' | Les Stephens | 4,388 | 49.31 |
| | Labour | Valerie Taylor | 3,326 | 37.38 |
| | Independent | Bob Monks | 884 | 9.93 |
| | Independent | Darryl Ward | 299 | 3.36 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,062 | 11.93 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,897 | 51.23 |

### 1987 by-election, Karori Ward

1987 Karori Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens' | Arthur Kinsella | 2,750 | 56.41 | |
| | Labour | Tracey Crampton-Smith | 2,125 | 43.59 | −20.14 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 625 | 12.82 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,875 | 55.42 | |

### 1989 by-election, Southern Ward

1989 Southern Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Rod Murphy | 1,566 | 36.79 |
| | Citizens' | Brian Barraclough | 1,496 | 35.15 |
| | Independent | Warwick Taylor | 786 | 18.46 |
| | Independent | Owen Henderson | 408 | 9.58 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 70 | 1.64 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,256 | 35.36 |

### 1991 by-election, Southern Ward

1991 Southern Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Margaret Bonner | 2,492 | 27.92 | |
| | Independent | Helene Ritchie | 1,564 | 17.52 | |
| | Citizens' | Ann Nolan | 1,406 | 15.75 | |
| | Green | Liz Thomas | 1,136 | 12.72 | |
| | NewLabour | Jeff Montgomery | 903 | 10.11 | |
| | Independent | Silvio Bartholomeo Famularo | 807 | 9.04 | |
| | Independent | Bill Maung | 278 | 3.11 | −10.11 |
| | People's Party | Christopher Ellis | 116 | 1.29 | −8.99 |
| | Independent | Harry Hughes | 110 | 1.23 | |
| | Independent | Isiona Harmer | 97 | 1.08 | |
| | Communist League | Patrick Brown | 15 | 0.16 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 928 | 10.39 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,924 | 43.02 | |

### 1994 by-election, Onslow Ward

1994 Onslow Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens' | Judy Siers | 1,762 | 37.33 | |
| | Independent | Helene Ritchie | 997 | 21.12 | |
| | Independent | Jill Main | 925 | 19.60 | |
| | Alliance | Philip Lyth | 502 | 10.63 | |
| | Independent | Bob Monks | 328 | 6.95 | −4.80 |
| | McGillicuddy Serious | Jonathan Wharton | 93 | 1.97 | |
| | Independent | Alexander Schiff | 88 | 1.86 | −2.29 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 24 | 0.50 | −3.73 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 765 | 16.21 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,719 | 45.42 | |

### 1994 by-election, Southern Ward

1994 Southern Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance Greens | Celia Wade-Brown | 2,429 | 29.61 | −6.90 |
| | Labour | Hola Taue | 2,197 | 26.78 | |
| | Independent | Eddie Mollier | 1,404 | 17.11 | |
| | Independent | Bryan Pepperell | 886 | 10.80 | |
| | Independent | Alan Chambers | 666 | 8.11 | |
| | Independent | John Ulrich | 396 | 4.82 | |
| | McGillicuddy Serious | John Morrison | 184 | 2.24 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 40 | 0.48 | −3.79 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 232 | 2.82 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,202 | 39.54 | |

### 1996 by-election, Southern Ward

1996 Southern Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Bryan Pepperell | 2,381 | 30.51 | −7.24 |
| | Labour | Hola Taue | 2,322 | 29.76 | −17.91 |
| | Alliance | Roland Sapsford | 1,347 | 17.26 | −7.42 |
| | Independent | Alan Chambers | 1,115 | 14.29 | |
| | Independent | Jonathan Mosen | 441 | 5.65 | |
| | Asia Pacific | Mano'o Lutena Mulitalo | 196 | 2.51 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 59 | 0.75 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,802 | 36.89 | |

### 1997 by-election, Northern Ward

1997 Northern Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Jack Ruben | 3,737 | 33.23 | |
| | Citizens' | Ian Hutchings | 2,949 | 26.22 | |
| | Independent | Helene Ritchie | 2,820 | 25.08 | |
| | Alliance | John Fanning | 1,453 | 12.92 | −13.76 |
| | Natural Law | Penelope Donovan | 284 | 2.52 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 98 | 0.87 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 788 | 7.00 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,243 | 41.73 | |

### 2000 by-election, Eastern Ward

2000 Eastern Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Ray Ahipene-Mercer | 3,034 | 33.12 | |
| | Independent | Richard Griffin | 1,691 | 18.46 | |
| | Christian Democrats | Linda Dring | 902 | 9.84 | |
| | Independent | Jo Morgan | 847 | 9.24 | −28.89 |
| | Independent | Gareth Rapson | 843 | 9.20 | |
| | Independent | Jack Ruben | 738 | 8.05 | |
| | Independent | Rama Ramanathan | 601 | 6.56 | −22.80 |
| | Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 245 | 2.67 | |
| | Independent | Phil Sprey | 145 | 1.58 | −16.55 |
| | McGillicuddy Serious | Vince Terreni | 86 | 0.93 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 27 | 0.29 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,343 | 14.66 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,159 | 38.50 | |

### 2017 by-election, Southern Ward

2017 Southern Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Labour | Fleur Fitzsimons | 32.88% | 2,155 | 2,165 | 2,174 | 2,224 | 2,293 | 2,454 | 2,805 |
| | Independent | Laurie Foon | 26.29% | 1,723 | 1,726 | 1,743 | 1,775 | 1,849 | 2,017 | 2,473 |
| | Independent | Vicki Greco | 24.26% | 1,590 | 1,595 | 1,603 | 1,682 | 1,707 | 1,765 |
| | Independent | Mohamud Mohamed | 6.61% | 433 | 448 | 456 | 486 | 569 |
| | Independent | Merio Marsters | 4.13% | 271 | 275 | 280 | 295 |
| | Independent | Rob Goulden | 3.65% | 239 | 242 | 255 |
| | Independent | Thomas Morgan | 1.01% | 66 | 73 |
| | Independent | Don McDonald | 0.93% | 61 |
| Valid: 6538 Spoilt: 13 + 4 blank Quota: 1st iteration: 3,269; last iteration: 2,639 |||||||||||

### 2024 by-election, Lambton Ward

2024 Lambton Ward by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Green | Geordie Rogers | 42.45 | 3,665 | 3,676 | 3,680 | 3,738 | 3,809 | 4,147 |
| | Independent | Karl Tiefenbacher | 42.31 | 3,653 | 3,663 | 3,690 | 3,791 | 3,943 | 4,102 |
| | Independent | Ellen Blake | 6.39 | 552 | 558 | 567 | 598 | 653 |
| | Independent | Joan Shi | 4.20 | 363 | 369 | 376 | 418 |
| | Independent | Edward Griffiths | 3.29 | 284 | 287 | 293 |
| | Independent | Zan Rai Gyaw | 0.71 | 62 | 66 |
| | Independent | Peter Wakeman | 0.61 | 53 |
| Valid: 8,632 (25.47%) Spoilt: 12 Quota: 4,125 ||||||||||