# 1980 Wellington City mayoral election

The 1980 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1980, election were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including eighteen city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

## Background

The election saw Michael Fowler returned as mayor for a third term as well as the introduction of a third party to contest control of the council. The Rates Reform ticket debuted to challenge the long established council duopoly between the Labour and Citizens' tickets. Founded in early 1979, the Rates Reform group accused local bodies of excessive spending and wanted a cessation to rates increases funded by cutting services and council staff. The group performed poorly however with all candidates receiving far fewer votes than the other tickets' candidates. By the following election the Rates Reform group had merged into the Citizens Association and two of their 1980 candidates (Ruth Gotlieb and Bryan Weyburne) were elected as councillors.

## Mayoralty results

1980 Wellington mayoral election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens' | Michael Fowler | 17,964 | 51.63 | +10.71 |
| | Labour | Ros Noonan | 9,986 | 28.70 | |
| | Rates Reform | Bryan Weyburne | 5,698 | 16.37 | |
| | Independent | Donald McPherson | 335 | 0.96 | |
| | Independent Citizens' | Frank Moncur | 279 | 0.80 | |
| | Independent | Victor Walter | 265 | 0.76 | |
| | Independent | Margaret Barry-Gellen | 263 | 0.75 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,978 | 22.93 | +15.68 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,790 | 36.25 | −10.63 |

## Councillor results

1980 Wellington City Council election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Labour | Helene Ritchie | 16,679 | 47.94 | +9.83 |
| Citizens' | Betty Campbell | 16,432 | 47.23 | −1.09 |
| Citizens' | Ian Lawrence | 16,411 | 47.17 | −2.34 |
| Labour | Ros Noonan | 16,159 | 46.44 | |
| Labour | Keith Spry | 15,938 | 45.81 | −2.53 |
| Citizens' | Denis Foot | 15,369 | 44.17 | |
| Citizens' | Rosemary Young | 14,822 | 42.60 | −5.59 |
| Labour | Tala Cleverley | 14,327 | 41.18 | +5.03 |
| Citizens' | Gavin Wilson | 14,302 | 41.10 | +4.24 |
| Labour | Frank O'Flynn | 14,049 | 40.38 | −4.07 |
| Labour | Joe Aspell | 13,862 | 39.84 | −2.12 |
| Citizens' | David Bull | 13,691 | 39.35 | +3.53 |
| Citizens' | Bruce Harris | 13,646 | 39.22 | |
| Labour | Hazel Bibby | 13,583 | 39.04 | |
| Labour | Jenny Brough | 13,205 | 37.95 | −0.51 |
| Citizens' | Roger Ridley-Smith | 12,988 | 37.33 | |
| Citizens' | Leone Harkness | 12,954 | 37.23 | |
| Citizens' | Les Paske | 12,917 | 37.12 | +3.11 |
| Citizens' | Gary Turkington | 12,577 | 36.15 | |
| Labour | Neville Pickering | 12,443 | 35.76 | |
| Citizens' | Saul Goldsmith | 11,846 | 34.05 | +15.72 |
| Labour | Tilly Hunter | 11,735 | 33.73 | −0.45 |
| Citizens' | Audrey Fitzgerald | 11,445 | 32.89 | −14.20 |
| Citizens' | Robin Lockie | 11,147 | 32.04 | |
| Citizens' | Lewis Guyson | 10,914 | 31.37 | |
| Labour | Pat Booth | 10,853 | 31.19 | |
| Citizens' | Nora Berry | 10,166 | 29.22 | |
| Labour | David Robinson | 10,118 | 29.08 | |
| Labour | Tony Burton | 9,983 | 28.69 | |
| Labour | Les Duckworth | 9,957 | 28.62 | |
| Citizens' | Michael Urquhart | 9,918 | 28.50 | |
| Citizens' | Richard Caughley | 9,846 | 28.30 | |
| Labour | Chris Dudfield | 9,640 | 27.70 | |
| Labour | Joe McTaggart | 9,504 | 27.31 | −3.96 |
| Labour | David Butler | 9,453 | 27.17 | |
| Labour | Gerard Dobson | 9,094 | 26.05 | |
| Rates Reform | Brett Ambler | 8,441 | 24.26 | |
| Rates Reform | Ruth Gotlieb | 6,750 | 19.40 | |
| Rates Reform | Ron England | 6,468 | 18.59 | +11.73 |
| Rates Reform | Eric Elliott | 5,897 | 16.95 | |
| Rates Reform | Gavin Munro Wilson | 5,278 | 15.17 | |
| Rates Reform | Desmond Briggs | 5,213 | 14.98 | |
| Rates Reform | Bruce Paton | 4,970 | 14.28 | |
| Rates Reform | Ivan Solt | 4,923 | 14.15 | −7.60 |
| Rates Reform | Michael Gibson | 4,903 | 14.09 | |
| Rates Reform | Ida Rose | 4,902 | 14.08 | |
| Independent | Suzy Van-Der-Kwast | 4,863 | 13.97 | |
| Rates Reform | Brian Wheeler | 4,713 | 13.54 | |
| Rates Reform | Paul Douche | 4,643 | 13.34 | |
| Rates Reform | David Preston | 4,520 | 12.99 | |
| Rates Reform | Jack Schaef | 4,467 | 12.83 | |
| Rates Reform | James Green | 4,313 | 12.39 | |
| Rates Reform | Mark Endacott | 4,293 | 12.33 | |
| Independent Labour | John Ulrich | 3,200 | 9.19 | |
| Independent | Donald McPherson | 2,572 | 7.39 | |
| Independent Citizens' | Frank Moncur | 2,009 | 5.77 | +0.45 |
| Independent Citizens' | Bart Greaves | 1,935 | 5.56 | |
| Independent | David Mitchell | 1,871 | 5.37 | −1.74 |
| Independent | William Dalgliesh | 1,228 | 3.52 | |