# 1938 Auckland City mayoral election

The 1938 Auckland City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1938, elections were held for the Mayor of Auckland plus other local government positions including twenty-one city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.
The election saw incumbent mayor Sir Ernest Davis re-elected, increasing his majority in the process. The Labour Party again stood councillor Joe Sayegh (who was only narrowly defeated by Davis in 1935) as their candidate.

## Candidates
### Citizens & Ratepayers

The incumbent mayor Sir Ernest Davis accepted the wishes of a deputation of citizens led by William R. Fee, the president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce.

### Labour

Two people were nominated for the Labour Party nomination to contest the mayoralty; the deputy mayor Bernard Martin and councillor Joe Sayegh (who stood for mayor in 1935). At a delegates meeting of the Auckland Labour Representation Committee Sayegh was selected as Labour's mayoral candidate.

## Campaign

Prior to the election several long serving Labour members of the city council were unexpectedly denied re-nomination. Ted Phelan, Arthur Rosser and George Gordon Grant were de-selected in the party selection process. Rosser ran for re-election regardless as an independent, but was defeated. The following year he was expelled from the Labour Party for standing against official party candidates. The Citizens & Ratepayers regained their majority on the city council and Sir George Richardson was appointed deputy mayor. However, Richardson died a month later and was succeeded as deputy mayor by John Allum. Richardson's death triggered a by-election which saw his seat gained by Labour Party candidate Charles Bailey, a former councillor who had lost his seat.

## Mayoralty results

1938 Auckland mayoral election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens & Ratepayers | Sir Ernest Davis | 26,176 | 64.28 | +25.97 |
| | Labour | Joe Sayegh | 13,689 | 33.61 | −3.75 |
| | Independent | James William Payne | 369 | 0.90 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 484 | 1.18 | −0.15 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,487 | 30.66 | +29.69 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,718 | 61.50 | +1.14 |

## Councillor results

1938 Auckland local election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Arthur Bailey | 22,996 | 56.47 | |
| Labour | Joe Sayegh | 21,310 | 52.33 | −7.49 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Leonard Coakley | 21,018 | 51.61 | +3.83 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | John Allum | 20,356 | 49.99 | |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Ellen Melville | 19,982 | 49.07 | +6.71 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Reginald Judson | 19,756 | 48.51 | |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | James Donald | 19,642 | 48.23 | |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Sir George Richardson | 19,540 | 47.98 | +2.43 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Harold Burton | 19,310 | 47.42 | +5.33 |
| Labour | Mary Dreaver | 19,225 | 47.21 | |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | William J. Campbell | 18,793 | 46.15 | |
| Labour | Bill Anderton | 18,694 | 45.91 | −7.68 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Howey Walker | 18,237 | 44.78 | |
| Labour | Jeremiah James Sullivan | 18,187 | 44.66 | |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | William R. Fee | 17,900 | 43.96 | |
| Labour | Richard Armstrong | 17,849 | 43.83 | |
| Labour | Ernest Frank Andrews | 17,839 | 43.81 | −5.47 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Roy McElroy | 17,642 | 43.32 | |
| Labour | Peter Carr | 17,621 | 43.27 | −2.63 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Alan Brown | 17,513 | 43.01 | |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | John W. Kealy | 17,407 | 42.75 | +12.12 |
| Labour | John Albert Mason | 17,268 | 42.40 | −12.04 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Arthur Watkins | 17,261 | 42.39 | |
| Labour | Fred Young | 17,230 | 42.31 | |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Harry Butcher | 17,211 | 42.26 | |
| Labour | Bernard Martin | 17,032 | 41.82 | −2.31 |
| Labour | Norman Douglas | 16,934 | 41.58 | −0.55 |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Harry Merritt | 16,672 | 40.94 | |
| Labour | John Stewart | 16,364 | 40.18 | −3.47 |
| Labour | Elizabeth Wynn | 16,352 | 40.15 | |
| Citizens & Ratepayers | Ada McNair | 15,999 | 39.29 | |
| Labour | Jim Purtell | 15,973 | 39.22 | −2.04 |
| Labour | Thomas Long | 15,782 | 38.75 | |
| Labour | Charles James Matthew | 15,602 | 38.31 | |
| Labour | Joseph Glen Kennerley | 15,536 | 38.15 | |
| Labour | James Jude | 15,344 | 37.68 | |
| Labour | Harry Gordon Staley | 14,955 | 36.72 | −1.96 |
| Labour | Charles Bailey | 14,239 | 34.96 | −15.41 |
| Independent | Tom Bloodworth | 10,788 | 26.49 | −17.84 |
| Independent | Amy Kasper | 8,625 | 21.18 | |
| Independent | Alice Basten | 8,193 | 20.12 | −21.49 |
| Independent | Arthur Rosser | 6,920 | 16.99 | −36.71 |
| Independent | John Barr Patterson | 5,647 | 13.86 | −23.51 |
| Independent | Jessie Darlow | 5,007 | 12.29 | |
| Independent | Ernest Cross | 3,663 | 8.99 | |
| Independent | James Haslam | 3,162 | 7.76 | |
| Independent | Gerald Bell | 3,042 | 7.47 | |
| Independent | Walter Davis | 2,737 | 6.72 | |
| Independent | Sydney James Ryan | 2,441 | 5.99 | |
| Independent | Maungatai Babbington | 2,408 | 5.91 | −1.71 |
| Independent | Charles Edward Phillips | 2,231 | 5.47 | |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ Butcher was appointed in September 1940 to fill a vacancy on the council