# 1968 Wellington City mayoral election

The 1968 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1968, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

## Background

Initially, long-serving councillor Denis McGrath announced his candidacy for Mayor on behalf of the Citizens' Association. He withdrew in June after he was appointed President of the New Zealand Law Society and decided not to seek re-election as a councillor either. This generated press speculation that the Citizens' Association would decide not field a candidate. However, despite previously declining to stand, deputy mayor Bob Archibald eventually accepted nomination following a deputation of local businessman requesting that he stand.
Ultimately, Frank Kitts was re-elected mayor for a fifth term. In doing so he won both a record size majority and became Wellington's longest-serving mayor.

## Mayoralty results

1968 Wellington mayoral election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank Kitts | 18,390 | 65.17 | +7.74 |
| | Citizens' | Bob Archibald | 9,569 | 33.91 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 258 | 0.91 | +0.33 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,821 | 31.26 | +12.48 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,217 | 46.5 | –1.1 |

## Councillor results

1968 Wellington City Council election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Labour | Rolland O'Regan | 17,652 | 62.55 | +8.52 |
| Labour | John Jeffries | 16,926 | 59.98 | +9.35 |
| Citizens' | Bob Archibald | 16,216 | 57.46 | +11.18 |
| Citizens' | Stewart Duff | 15,972 | 56.60 | +13.16 |
| Labour | Olive Smuts-Kennedy | 15,965 | 56.57 | +7.18 |
| Citizens' | George Porter | 14,013 | 49.66 | +8.43 |
| Citizens' | John Turk | 14,002 | 49.62 | +9.65 |
| Citizens' | Betty Campbell | 13,577 | 48.11 | |
| Citizens' | Gordon Morrison | 13,511 | 47.88 | +8.14 |
| Labour | Gerald O'Brien | 13,240 | 46.92 | +7.34 |
| Citizens' | William Scollay | 12,851 | 45.54 | +6.48 |
| Labour | Keith Spry | 12,817 | 45.42 | +6.79 |
| Citizens' | Ron Button | 11,903 | 42.18 | |
| Citizens' | Michael Fowler | 11,794 | 41.79 | |
| Citizens' | Rod Campbell | 11,674 | 41.37 | |
| Labour | Peter Butler | 11,084 | 39.28 | +0.72 |
| Labour | Edward Hill | 10,889 | 38.59 | +5.31 |
| Citizens' | Les Chapman | 10,875 | 38.54 | |
| Citizens' | Frank Fordham | 10,695 | 37.90 | |
| Labour | Yvonne Grove | 10,596 | 37.55 | |
| Labour | Florence Vincent | 10,538 | 37.34 | |
| Citizens' | George Madgwick | 10,027 | 35.53 | |
| Citizens' | Keith Congreve | 9,881 | 35.01 | |
| Labour | Douglas Foy | 9,609 | 34.05 | |
| Labour | Tony Haas | 9,600 | 34.02 | |
| Labour | Gwendrith Elsie Haine | 9,475 | 33.57 | +0.60 |
| Citizens' | Hollis Reed | 9,249 | 32.77 | |
| Labour | Stan Rodger | 9,075 | 32.16 | |
| Labour | Percival Hansen | 8,912 | 31.58 | –5.12 |
| Labour | Wilfred Edward Simpson | 8,566 | 30.35 | |
| Independent | Saul Goldsmith | 4,594 | 16.28 | +1.60 |
| Independent Liberal | Harry Hughes | 3,892 | 13.79 | |
| Independent | Annette Griffin | 3,823 | 13.54 | |
| Independent | Clevedon Costello | 3,407 | 12.07 | |
| Independent Liberal | Bernard Kaiser | 3,341 | 11.84 | |
| Independent | Donald McMillain | 2,911 | 10.31 | |
| Communist | Ron Smith | 1,530 | 5.42 | +2.14 |